Preparazzi

Date: 28th July 2012

Address: 29 Boon Tat Street
Opening Hours: 12-2:30pm, 6.30-11pm
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar/ Raffles Place 

A friend and I were on our way to Vanilla Cafe and arrived there a few minutes before 11am only to be disappointed because the cafe hadn't even opened and they were supposed to be open and ready for guests by 11am. They should probably work on their punctuality because it plays a big part on our impression of them. 

All was well though, because we got the chance to visit Preparazzi instead! 

We were told we had to wait for 20 minutes because the kitchen was just getting ready and so we did. 

I'd known Preparazzi to be a catering business because I once worked part time for them and it was a good experience to watch the behind-the-scenes of catering business - how they prepared the food, how they presented it and ohhh how good the food was! So I was highly anticipating the food to be extraordinary, finger licking good. I guess I expected too much. 

I like the setting of the place though. 

Preparazzi had won this 1400 sq.ft shop space, rent free for a year at the "Ultimate Start-Up Space" competition and now here they are, just after a few months of opening. I like how they have managed to "open" up the space they have by mirroring an entire wall. It effectively makes the place look more spacious than it is. 

Truffle Eggs Ben - S$18 

The supposedly truffle hollandaise sauce they use to drizzle over the poached eggs didn't have a truffle oil taste or smell at all. In fact, it was buttery. Way Too Buttery. I quickly scooped the sauce out of the way after one bite of it. I abhor how bland the sauce was and don't understand how it could go well with the smoked salmon. I'd rather they just drizzled some lemon sauce and be done with it. 

The brioche they baked themselves was good though, nicely textured and fragrant. 

The side salad was dismissible. 

My friend tried the Toad brioche - S$15  

This was simple, kurobuta sausage, 2 sunny side ups on freshly baked brioche, along with asparagus and a really interesting onion gravy dip.

The sauce was sour and sweet and should definitely be taken with the rest of the dish because it would be too sour on its own. 

I guess this was simple enough so neither of us could complain. 

Their food is pricier than average and from what I've tried, it isn't all that worth it. Perhaps they have other speciality dishes I missed out on and I am rather intrigued to try them out. But for now, i don't think i'll re-visit them any time soon. 

Kith Cafe ( Park Mall )

Date: 27 July 2012 

Address: 9 Penang road #01-01E, Park Mall Shopping Centre 

Opening Hours: Daily 8am - 10pm 

Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut 

I have long wanted to visit Kith Cafe but the one at Robertson quay is so tiny and annoying cos you'll most probably have to sit outside where it's hot, stuffy, very hot and very stuffy. 

So when I heard about their new outlet at Park Mall, I made visiting them the first item on my priority list. 

I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures but you can take my word for it and know it's at least twice the size of the Robertson quay one. It probably can sit around 20 people or so inside and a coupla  more outside.

Big Breakfast - S$15 

Everything you'd want for breakfast would be on this plate. It's quite like a classic English Breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon, sausage and mushrooms. Everything was well cooked and the toast was crisp. Can't complain about anything really! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my Sirloin steak sandwich!!! For S$16,  they gave a reasonable sized piece of steak that was tender and easy to bite into. It was as juicy as a steak should be and went pleasantly well with the shaved parmesan, onions and capsicum. 

I can't wait to go back there to try their other items. Service was better than average and the decor was simple and nice! Just a perfect place to chill out with a friend and have some good food! 

Tiong Bahru Bakery

Date : 20 July 2012

Address: 56 Eng Hoon Street

Opening hours: 8am - 8pm, closed on Tuesdays 

Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru 

There's been so much hype about Tiong Bahru Bakery, most of my friends who visited the place gave squealing recommendations. One even threatened never to speak to me again if I didn't try the chocolate croissant. 

So I did. And I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, but i wasn't impressed! Not one bit. 

I don't know if it was the high expectations I built of it or just a down day for them. Or perhaps I didn't really try the "specialities" but I was really disappointed after my brunch at TBB. 

I stepped into the buzzing eatery that was already crowded before noon and was greeted by a friendly waiter. 

I like the layout of the counter, how it displays the food to make every one of them irresistible. I was only with one friend but we wanted to order everything we saw. It's a good thing I live nearby so I can always go back to try the rest of the food. 

The first item i sank my teeth into was the Lemon Tart - $6 

The crust was harder than I expected it to be and honestly very plain and boring. The lemon pudding on top was sour and sweet and I wonder if they put mandarin oranges in it cos there was an overpowering taste of them. 

I wouldn't have been able to finish one on my own just because it's very sweet and I rather dislike the crust. 

The moment had arrived.

This was the chocolate croissant ( $3.20 ) my friend had so highly recommended. 

I eagerly shoved a piece of it into my mouth and............ my heart sank.

The croissant was soggy and slightly tough, not crispy and fresh. 

Perhaps I had indeed gone on a bad day, but aren't they supposed to be serving good and fresh food all the time? My friend and I exchanged glances and she said " Okay only leh " and I couldn't agree more. 

This was a spontaneous order that we made and boy am i glad we did because it turned out to be the best item we had that morning. The Croque Monsieur ( with ham and cheese ) - $9.50 would be one pastry I would dare to recommend at TBB.

The bread was soft and together with the ham and cheese, each bite was a flavorful one.

"PANNA COTTA!! " I squealed in delight when i saw this among other dessert items. We tried the one with tropical fruits - $6.50 

I prefer the pistachio panna cotta at Saveur's because it's smoother and milkier whereas this one was dry and more starchy.

My brave friend bought the squid ink bread $4++  and regretted her choice almost immediately after having a bite of it. She hadn't tried squid ink pasta before so she had no clue what she was venturing into. However, if you HAVE tried squid ink pasta before and like how it better flavours your food, then perhaps you will fancy this. 

As disappointed as I was, I'll go back and try more of their food. Hopefully the next time, I'll have an improved impression of them. 

Baan Tong Thai (CLOSED)

Date: 23 July 2012

Address: 16 Kim Tian Road

Opening hours: 11am - 230pm, 530pm - 1030pm 

Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru 

The number of eateries sprouting up around Tiong Bahru have been rising these few months and being a happy resident here, I am more than happy to welcome all of them. 

One of the latest additions is Baan Tong Thai and WOOHOOO I finally get to have thai food whenever I want without having to take a bus to anywhere. 

I can't believe how much thai food i've had over the past week but I'm evidently not sick of it yet so let's keep the ball rolling. 

Pricier than the others that I've tried, the Thai Iced Milk Tea - $3.50 was sweet and less milky than usual. I actually prefer this version to Jane Thai's but my friend disagrees so to each its own I guess. 

The very friendly and courteous manager showed me the packet for the tea leaves which are brought in from thailand. If you're ever in thailand and see them, you could probably buy and try some. 

Tom Yum Soup - $8.80  

The soup looks bare because it kind of was. There was a whole lot of soup but I really wish there were more mushrooms in there, if not prawns. Till now, I haven't found a thai place in Singapore that is generous with ingredients. Is it really that expensive to throw in a few more mushrooms and squids? 

Other than that, the prawns were fresh and the soup was spicy, though not as spicy as Nong Khai's.

Sambal kangkong - $7.80 

 Spicier than usual and a little too soggy for me. 

The kind manager let us try their Tako, usually priced at $4.50

This served as a nice dessert after a spicy meal as the coconut milk in it helped to relief my burning lips.

It has two layers, the top one is coconut pudding and the bottom is a translucent pudding with corn bits and water chestnut. The manager, Daniel shared that they import their pandan leaves from thailand and only serve this dessert twice a month. 

Baan Tong provides a nice and clean environment (as compared to Nong Khai) to enjoy Thai food with friends and relatives. Their waitresses are friendly (though a little inexperienced) and I will definitely be back to try more of their dishes so stay tuned! 

Nongkhai Beer House

Date : 20th July 2012

Address: 5001 Golden Mile Complex #01-73/74

Opening hours: 10am - 10pm

Nearest Mrt : Nicoll Highway

A friend of mine recommended this place for authentic thai food at a reasonable price. Being a crazy fan of thai food, I obviously had to check this place out. 

It's located in Golden Mile and is amongst many other thai food restaurants. It was rather heartwarming seeing thai workers, thai disco girls, thai expats all gathering in this place where they can have a taste of home in this foreign land. Being singaporean amongst them rather made me feel out of place but not in a bad way. It just made me feel like a tourist in my own country, which should tell you how "authentic" this place is. 

The first dish that arrived was the spicy grilled beef - $8 that was really spicy (esp if you bite into the chili seeds like I did). The meat was too tough but the sauce was tantalizing. I've tried better beef salads so I wasn't impressed. 

One of the things you'll have to get used to eating at Nongkhai is the smell of cockles.....everywhere. I don't know why there was a pungent drain smell in the air but it definitely didn't enhance my appetite.

Tom yum seafood soup - $12 

I'd asked for tomyum clear soup but it still came out red in colour so i'm not sure what was going on but at least there wasn't the oily texture that i was avoiding. 

This soup was REALLY spicy, especially after a while. It really gets to your throat and I had a little soreness left in my throat the day after. 

If you're not comfortable with very spicy food, do ask them to tailor the level of spiciness for you. 

I did love how their prawns were very fresh and how there were many mushrooms!!! (my favourite) 

Green Curry chicken - $8-10 (forgot to note down the price) 

Not bad but i think i'd prefer it to be more sour and milky. 

Papaya Salad - $5. Fresh, sour, tasty and spicy. 

Tasted like mango salad, couldn't tell the difference. Is it cos they're all raw? No idea if they are even raw but it's good irregardless. 

I think this was the culprit that left my poor taste buds on fire and we had already asked for everything to be less spicy.  PLEASE remember to ask for it to be less less less spicy if you can't take it. If this is how they roll in Nongkhai , i really must salute them for their abilities to enjoy such spicy food. 

Iced tea/ Iced milk tea - $1.50 

The iced milk tea tasted like normal teh ice to me except that it was sweeter in that lemon-grassy way. 

I preferred my iced tea which was lighter and not as sweet. 

Would I revisit Nongkhai? Yes for sure, because i have yet to try their roasted meat and their cockle salad! Plus, what i've tried was not bad so i'm intrigued to try everything else on the menu. 

Jane Thai Food restaurant

Date: 17 July 2012

Address: 400 Orchard road, #04-30 Orchard Towers / 314 Bedok road Bedok shopping complex

Opening hours: 5pm - 4am / 11:30am - 3pm, 5 -10pm ( Bedok )

Nearest MRT: Orchard 

I have always wanted to try Jane Thai and I finally got my chance when a few of my friends decided to have thai for dinner. 

I've been back from bangkok for only a week and i am already sorely missing thai food. I've had 4 bowls of tom yum noodle soup for the last 7 days and I still want more so i'm going to another thai place this friday woohoo. 

Anyway, my friends and i visited the branch at orchard towers just because it's more convenient for us. 

I've seen the one at simpang bedok and that one seems more "posh" looking but I've yet to try the food there. If you don't mind watching streams of caucasian men enter dodgy, loud pubs and exit with their arms around scantily dressed women while you drink your tom yum soup, you should totally visit this hidden gem! 

Given that this place closes at 5am, it's an excellent place to stop by for food late at night, say if you're hungry after a movie. 

Hoi Kheng : Cockles - $5 

For sure, this small bowl of cockles seems like a rip off when you can get a large bucket of them at the market for the same price and boil it yourself to get the same result. We ordered it anyway since we felt like having it. 

 Phad Pak Bung : Sambal Kang Kong - $6

Sweeter than usual and crunchy enough. Just a little disappointed with the portion being rather small. 

Phad Thai Beef - $5 

I didn't try this but my friend said it was average. 

Tom Yum Seafood Soup - $10 

This pot of soup was enough for 3 people. Lots of people think that the clear soup isn't as spicy as the red soup (maybe cos the colour red lets you think its spicy) but i've always preferred Tom yum nam sai (clear soup) to the red one because I think its less oily and honestly spicier. 

The prawns weren't very fresh and there was too little seafood in there, hardly enough for the 3 of us. Then again, the portion may have been intended for only one or 2 persons. 

How i miss having tom yum soup at half the price and double the ingredients (esp mushrooms) back in bangkok. 

Peek Gai Thod : Fried Chicken Wings $5 

So - So. I prefer barbecued wings. 

Thai Iced Milk Tea - $2 each 

Tastes just like "Teh-bing" to me just slightly sweeter. 

I might come back again if i happen to be in orchard and craving for thai food but I wouldn't plan for it. 

The food was average but the service was good. 

I'm on to more thai restaurants in Singapore to find my favourite one. 

Travel - Sydney

SYDNEY 

The trip my best friend and I dutifully planned for finally happened! I packed my bags in excitement and went to the airport, checked in and then it hit me - I'd forgotten to bring the one most important thing --- not my passport --- but my CAMERA. 

Thankfully, my best friend brought hers and so all of the following photos are of hers. She's just started writing her own blog too, check it out sometime! traipses

We spent a good 8 days there, rented a house in Darlington and made our way around Sydney using our "My Multi" tickets which allowed us to take unlimited rides on the trains, trams and ferries for a week. I think the concession price was about aud 30+. We got the ones that included all zones just in case we wanted to travel to blue mountains and other places of interest on our own. 

I'm just gonna write out a concise post on things to do/places to eat in Sydney. 

Things to do 

1 : Sydney Opera House

Getting there wasn't tough at all. We took a bus 422 from Broadway and got off at Circular Quay, then walked for about 10-15 minutes to the opera house.
You can also take a train to the Circular quay station and then walk.

You will also see the Harbour bridge right opposite the opera house. It's near where the rocks is. 

2 : Hunter Valley winery tour 

I didn't go for the tour cos i'm not a fan of wine but my friends went and they really enjoyed it. You can  look up operators who offer day tours to hunter valley. The journey is a long one from sydney, about 2 hours each way. 

3. The Rocks market

The Rocks is a beautiful area near circular quay that has many distinguished buildings and tons of cafes where you can sit and watch the happenings around the harbour. 

It's a short 5 minutes walk from circular quay and if you love pancakes, you can visit pancakes on the rocks to have reasonably priced delicious stacks of pancakes. 

It's better to go in the afternoon though, avoid lunch and dinner crowds cos the queue can be really really really really long. 

 Before we visited the rocks market, we chanced upon this quaint cafe and decided to have breakfast there. It's a nice unpretentious place and breakfast was served pretty quickly.

The Rocks market only happens during the weekends and you'll find vendors selling handmade stuff, especially ornaments or clothing from local brands. 

The crowd is sparse so you'll have plenty of room to walk around. 

I bought nice paintings from vendors to add to my collection of international art pieces.

Winter leaves the trees bare but i love them that way. They seem to have more character this way. 

From the rocks you can see the harbour bridge.

A vendor selling "satay" 

I gotta admit that the food in australia is expensive. A plate of duck rice in the food court can cost around 10 dollars. But then again, the people working in the food courts are paid at least 8-15 aud an hour. 

 The sign said they were "father and son" and i never figured out if it was a he or she but she/he looked too pretty to be a boy so i have no idea.

4. Paddy's market

Compared to The Rocks, paddy's offers a different atmosphere and a more rowdy scene. It's located indoors and is probably a lot large than the rocks, has more vendors. Things sold here are a mixture of local products and imported goods like clothing, herbs, beauty products and so on. If you want to buy the cliche tourist shirts that say " I love Sydney" you can find them here, most of them sell a piece for 6 dollars or 3 for 20. 

Ladies' clothing aren't exactly cheap either, I was expecting 10-20 dollar dresses but they were in the 30-50 range. 

5. Museum of Contemporary Art 

Okay i wouldn't exactly say this is a "must-see" destination in sydney but what's a holiday without visiting a museum or two? (at least for mine) 

We were strolling back to circular quay from the rocks and chanced upon this museum which was open to the public for that period of time so we went in and spent a nice hour or two there. 

Most of the art pieces in this museum were very thought provoking, questioning the conventions of modern society and challenging us to reflect on how we react to the art works. 

6. Westfield Tower 

The westfield tower is one of those look out places where if you go to the top floor you get to have a 360deg view of sydney. 

It's also one of the popular shopping places. 

We got free tickets when we bought our blue mountains tour so we went for the fun of it. 

I've never had a thing for these views though cos they're all the same in every country.

I'd rather look at natural scenes and not a bunch of high rise man made buildings that light up at night. That's just my own opinion though.

7. Blue Mountains and Jenolan caves 

We booked a blue mountains/ jenolan caves tour from one of the local operators, paid about 115 aud for a day tour that started at 7am and ended at 7pm. A coach picked us up from YHA sydney central ( a common pick up point for tour operators ) and sent us to blue mountain where we got less than 2 hours to walk around. We got a bit pissed because we weren't warned about the short time given. 

To get anywhere around blue mountains you are required to buy a pass that allows you take 3 kinds of transportation for an unlimited number of rides for the day.

The shitty thing is we only had an hour so we couldn't do much. So remember to make sure your tour operator gives you ample time. 

Or just book a tour that doesn't go to the jenolan caves as well, but that'd be a huge compromise cos i loved the caves. 

We were led into the Lucas cave by a nice and friendly guide for a bout 1.5 hours and the view in it was amazing. 

These are just a few shots of what's in the caves and you really have to be there to fully experience the magnificent formations that have resulted over a few million years. 

I was a geography student so i'm a geek for rock formations. 

 

8. Whale Watching 

The whale season only occurs for a few months during winter and the humpback season is even shorter. We paid about 60 Aud each for a 2 hour whale watching tour. Together with 10 odd other people we spent 2 hours staring out into the ocean watching for a blowhole to appear. It did happen for a couple of times, followed by the sighting of a whale's tail but that was all. I didn't get a photo of it but it was pretty....nice. I wouldn't really do it again though because it was FREEZING out in the ocean and we were really unprepared (attire wise). 

Whale watching is also available in port stephens but we chose to stay in sydney harbour cos the journey to port stephens was really long approx 2 hours one way. We wanted to save some time ( & money )

9. China Town 

So every city has a city town and we were around paddy's market which was near it so we walked through it for a while. We also sat down for some average dim sum. There's really nothing much to it, it's just like any china town in a western country, a modification of what china town really is about. 

Nonetheless, i can imagine it to be a comforting place to be for asians to be if they're homesick cos there are tons of asian restaurants around.

10. Darling Harbour/ Cockle Bay Wharf

Darling harbour is a famous and popular tourist destination because for one, it's by a beautiful harbour and two, many boat and jet ski operators are situated here. So if you booked a whale watching tour that goes to sydney harbour, it might pick you up from darling harbour. 

At night, this place comes to live with bustling restaurants and clubs. There is also an IMAX theatre in the vicinity. 

Things to eat 

1. Lindt Cafe 

There are a few outlets but we went to the one at cockle bay wharf, check out their website for the other locations. 

When we went in for tea, the place was quite packed but it didn't take long for us to make our order at the counter .

Their macarons are highly recommend and they have a wide selection of flavours, each for 2.80 aud if i'm not wrong (I can't really remember sorry) 

I loved their macarons, chewy and not too sweet, just the way i like them. I tried salted caramel, strawberry, cookies and cream and vanilla. 

We also quickly devoured their famous waffles with ice cream because they were so delicious! I fully understand why they call it their famous waffle. I have to say that was probably the best waffle I've ever had. 

2. Adriano Zumbo 

Simply said, I wasn't impressed. I was under the impression that this place would be heaven for dessert lovers like me but I was really disappointed. 

Address : Shop 1, Cafe Court, 

The Star

80 Pyrmont st

Pyrmont, NSW 2009

Of course, you could check out where the other locations are right here. 

This looks really excitable but the prices aren't that excitable. 

I mean, i'm not a stingy person and i'm usually willing to spend more than usual for good desserts. 

But honestly, I wasn't impressed by anything I tried. 

If you do go though, you might wanna go during happy hour (6-8pm) as their desserts are cheaper. They go for $4 for normal plates and $8 for black plates.

This was the Chocolate Namera. Tasted just like any chocolate cake would. Except that it is a lot tinier and it has a fancy name. 

This was slightly better. But once again, the portion was so small it was a turn off. 

If you're gonna tell me good things come in small portions, I'm glad i've found alot of other good things that come in mega sized portions. 

Honestly, the pricing was really just a huge turn off.

The macaroons probably saved zumbo's ass because they were really good. I still however, prefer the ones I had at lindt cafe. 

3. Cupcake Bakery 

I would give anything just to go back and buy more red velvet cupcakes from this bakery. They are AWESOME and so worth the 3.80 aud!!! I am so set on finding a bakery that has good cupcakes in Singapore. One that isn't pretentious and over prices their tiny cupcakes. 

PLEASE walk into cupcake bakery and try one of their creations. They have outlets all around but this was along George street. 

4. Hurricane's 

Last but not least, you should never leave sydney without having a meal at hurricane's!! They serve REALLY good steaks and incredible ribs plus their service was impeccable. 

It is hard to get seats during dinner time though, most people wait for an hour or two. 

We went during lunch time so we didn't have to queue. 

Calamari was good! Though I would have preferred a less creamier sauce but you could have the calamari on its own anyway. 

The wings were average though the sauce was (im guessing) hurricane's signature creation.

Ribs and steak . FINGER LICKING GOOD. 

In total we paid about 90 aud for 3 people and I think it was really reasonable for the amount of food we had and the excellent service we received. 

I highly recommend you to make a reservation though, we heard they were fully booked for a week (for dinner) so that should give an idea of how popular they are! 

That's about it for sydney! I loved it but i hated how the day ended so fast. As usual, shops close early and so, unless you're heading out for dinner or drinks, there really isn't much to do. 

I still enjoyed sydney tremendously, especially the cooling winter weather!! Probably wouldn't go back in the next few years but I can't wait to explore other parts of australia!