Chicken Udon @ Cafe by The Quad, NTU

Know as The Quad, a cafe establised in 2005.

Located at the heart of Nanyang Technological University, where the two major academic spines meet. This centrally located cafe can seat up to 450 people, it is the latest hip eating place in NTU.

Offering international cuisines, from Western cuisine, Japanese cuisine to local and vegetarian delights, one will be spoilt for choices. Baked rice, spaghetti, roast chicken, laksa, beef noodles, mixed rice, udon and bento. You name it, they have it! A special salad counter that offers self-service salad @ $1.50/small bowl or $5/big bowl, everyone needs their serving of veg *wink*

By the way, it is also located at Basement 1 of School of Biological Sciences, the school i am studying currently. It has become a norm for us to dine there when we do not have sufficient time to travel (by walking of course!) to other canteens.

This serving of udon is definitely able to filled up an adult man. Generous in their serving, they are also very generous in their condiments. Topped with Japanese fish cake and 3 different types of mushroom ie: Straw Mushroom, Button Mushroom and Abalone Mushroom, i am well pleased. Sprinkle of Japanese red chille pepper, it is ready to go~ Into my mouth down to my oesophagus, dive right into my stomach of course! *grin*

Chicken-thigh, roasted yet tender and juicy. Served together with some brocolli and Ya-Chai (fried yam and brinjal tempura style), a wholesome and delicious meal. At $3.50 only, you can only get it in NTU.

So what are you waiting for? Come visit me in NTU and i'll bring you there~

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant @ Bugis Junction

Bugis, located at the central of Singapore. Besides the buzz during weekends which is a killer, i still couldn't find another reason why i would choose to go here.

"3 years, 5 visits. I considered this as a record. "

So when it comes to food, the overwork auditor who works around the area recommended this place. We, a bunch of innocent-looking, stomach-growling young adults headed to this place after quite a while of you-know-what-reason-that-make-one-late waiting.

Located at level 2 of Bugis Junction, the escalator besides swenson sends you to the doorstep of the restaurant. Walking into Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, i felt as if i have walked into another Crystal Jade branch with better lighting (some CJ's branches have poor lighting which affect my pics). With the familiar wooden chairs and tables, we were comfortably sitted at the far end of the restaurant.

Pickles were served while we were flipping through the menu. The pickles were sour and pungent yet delicious. The cabbage and carrot were crunchy and full of flavour, a very refreshing starter.

Steamed Bun with Glutinous Rice 糯米烧卖 (3pcs) @ $4.20

It looks great on the menu, but the taste was just so-so. Nothing special and i didn't want to waste my calorie on it. Comment was based on JimJIm's feedback.

Abalone Mushroom Noodle 鲍汁菌菇面 @ $7.50

The noodle got nothing to shout about except for its soup. The soup was a very clear, subtly flavoured abalone soup with a hint of flavour derived from the thinly sliced leeks. Served with sliced abalone mushroom, it was the carb-source when your meal was protein laden, or should i say, pork-filled? *bleah*

Golden Fried Rice 黄金炒饭 @ $8.50

They said, " Name reflects one's appearance & personality".

Served with generous amount of pork floss topping, each grain of rice was coated with reddish-golden colour. From the cooking oil, i supposed??? It remained as an unknown. I love fried rice served in such a way. Grains of rice separated. I couldn't stand sticky-clumpy-sore-to-the-eye fried rice. This is good stuff! The first mouth burst into sweet & spicy flavour before the taste of eggs and dried shrimp surfaced to the taste bud.

"What comes to your mind when you see a saucer or vinegar with shredded ginger?"

Steamed Soup Bun with Pork Filling 鲜肉小笼 (6pcs) @ $6.00

"YES, You're right! It's Xiu Long Bao!!!"

Steamed Soup Bun with Crab Roe and Pork Filling 蟹黄小笼 (6pcs) @ $11.80

Did i mentioned that i was fascinated by the menu? especially the xiu long bao or steamed bun section? They serve not one, not two, not even three, but NINE TYPES of xiu long bao!!!!!!

From pork filling, crab meat with pork to mushroom, vegetables to SHARK FIN CRAB ROE WITH PORK filling~ Talk about looks can be deceiving. If they try serving the whole range of xiu long bao, i wouldn't be able to differentiate what is what by its appearance.

There are two categories of Xiu Long Bao, and by the way, they call their xiu long bao as steamed bun here. Special steamed bun and superior grade steamed bun. Price ranges from $6.00-$12.00 for 6pcs. It's pretty reasonable.

Up till now, i've only tried Crystal Jade's xiu long bao. If i am given a choice, i probably will choose here? *uncertain* First of all, i'm not a pork person. When it comes to pork, unless it is sweet and sour pork by my aunty and stewed pork ribs by my dearest ma-ma, i normally would turn it down. I still couldn't get used to the taste and smell of pork though my grandpa was a butcher and my uncle still is one...

Secondly, i don't chew on pork dish. Again, back to reason No.1. Cos i couldn't take the smell. So i couldn't really recall the taste of the filling of the xiu long bao. One thing for sure is, its skin is thin yet able to hold the flavourful soup.

Spicy Steamed Soup Bun with Crab Meat and Pork Filling 香辣蟹肉小笼 @ $9.80

This gigantic steamed bun occupied the whole small bamboo steaming tray. A straw was served together and it was meant to eat, or better known as drink the "gems" using the straw.

"Be careful, it's very hot" said the waiter.

We heeded his advice. There were so much xiu long bao on the table so we didn't mind to save it for the last. Didn't they say "save the best for last"? Yea, this was what we meant.

No one eats the bao here. The whole bao was left intact for almost all of us, except for the two with high level of curiousity (me inclusive).*haha*

I'm glad i opened it up cos it revealed the gems: dried scallop, shredded crab meat etc which made the soup luscious and extremely sweet and rich. Full of flavour!!! It is like having a bowl of superior soup in the form of xiu long bao. Erm...It shouldn't be called xiu long bao, it should be Big Long Bao~ *grin*

Now i know where i would head to when i want some xiu long bao.

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
200 Victoria Street
#02-53 Bugis Junction
Singapore 188024
Tel: 65-68357577
Fax: 65-68357877

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng, 1 Utama Shopping Centre (Old Wing)

After a long day walking around in 1-Utama, mum wanted to go back to Uncle Vincent's place to take a shower before the last appointment with her ex-colleagues from the bookstore at 8pm.

It was 6.20pm and it was raining heavily. The long queue at the taxi stand was such a turn off. We probably need to wait for half an hour before we could hop into any taxi.

Bringing mum to a Char Chan Teng seems like a good idea. Let her rest her tired feet with some sweet bites seemed like the best solution.

I saw Wong Kok Char Chan Teng from the corner of my eyes when we were purchasing some gifts at Watson's. Its location was pretty hidden by the Nicole's Booth set up right in front of the shop. So we walked straight or to be exact, dragging our tired-self by walking slowly but directly to the shop from the taxi stand, without being distracted by anything.

I was still feeling very full from the Steamboat lunch. But the extensive and attractive menu fulfilled its purpose *lol* I was tempted. Extremely tempted. I ordered Banana Waffle with a scoop of ice-cream. 我敗給了美麗誘人的照片。。。*bang head, stupid menu*

芝士面包布丁 Peach & Cheese Bread Pudding @ RM 5.50

Mum ordered the bread pudding. She opted the sweet bread pudding (Wong Kok offers savoury bread pudding *roll eyes* ). Anyway, this bread pudding turns out ok. Served with two thick slices of peach, the bread pudding was covered with a very thick layer of cheese (Mozzarella cheese, if i tasted correctly). My mum liked it, but i still couldn't associate cheese with bread pudding. Maybe i was still in the era of egg+raisins+milk version of bread pudding. But taste wise, it was pretty ok. Bits of peach can be found at the layer of egg custard with trace of peach flavour. I supposed Peach Syrup was added.

香蕉淇淋夹饼 Banana Waffle with Single Scoop Ice-Cream @ RM 6.90

A little disappointed. First of all, i was expecting a light and crisp waffle. But it turned out to be soft and dense. Maybe its Hong Kong style? Secondly, i was looking forward for more banana on the waffle served. For the seven slices of banana, i could get one more scoop of ice-cream with the same price.

Mum had a cup of hot Hong Kong Style Yin-Yang 港式鸳鸯@ RM 2.50 but she claimed that the taste of tea overpowered the coffee. *Shrug* I thought it was decent. I had a cup of almond drink with egg white 杏仁蛋白露@ 3.80. Lovely. Smooth and aromatic. But too little egg white.

*No picture, cos too busy enjoying my almond drink *slurp*

Nontheless, it was an enjoyable time to dine with my dearest mummy.

It satisfied me.

Not the food.

But the look of my mum enjoying what's on the table.

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng
Lot F225, 1st Floor
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama, 47800 PJ
Tel: (03) 77108611

Plus One Shabu Shabu @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre

Late breakfast, snacking here and there resulting us having lunch at almost 3pm. Hmm...But i kind of like this kinda lifestyle. My tummy grows but it does not growl... *wink* A lifestyle of Tai Tai that i'm looking forward...

Looking around at the "interactive directory" again, couldn't make up our mind what to eat. *what the heck, don't understand the machine at all!!! Too high tech~*

We were actually heading to Jack's Place because we saw they were providing set lunch promotion which was priced reasonably. On our way, mum saw this steamboat shop served individually. She was attracted to it. So we had steamboat in the afternoon instead or plain western.

Mixed Set 杂锦锅 @ RM 12.90

We ordered a mixed set which include the soup. Mum chose the Fish Head Soup. If you are ordering ala carte, you will need to pay for the soup. For set lunch, you can only choose between Winter Veg Pork Soup, Teow Chew Salted Veg Soup, Fish Head Soup and Ma La Soup. There are a few more variety of soup like TomYam but it is not included in the set lunch. The mixed set includes 2 prawns, 2 scallop, some fish, chicken & pork, beancurd skin aka Fu Chok with fishpaste, 2 crabsticks, a few miserable leaves of cabbage & 2 tiny weeny slices of pumpkin, an egg and one big ee-mee.

I'll not post the pic of the soup as the picture turned out to be foggy. Hungry girl wanted to fix her stomach than to take good pics. *giggle* But mum's soup came with many chunks of fried fish head. Nice!

I ordered Teow Chow Soup @ RM 6.00 which was the salted veg soup with toufu & tomatoes. It was salty but it meant to be that way. I shared the ingredients from the mixed set with mum topped with Tong Hou Veg. What's that in chinese, i don't know the PinYin so i can't type it out. So sorry. Anyway, it looks like this...

Tong Hou Vege @ RM 5.00

Overall, the ambience of the restaurant is good and you'll get free-flow drinks with the choice of Nestea Greentea or Ice Lemon Tea. Furthermore, Jelly-O will be served when you have finished youe meal. Service staffs are pretty attentive and the price is very reasonable. All set lunch are priced between RM 12.90 - RM 15.90 only.

If you are there, don't know what you want to eat, can try this restaurant. It's worth trying.

Plus One Shabu Shabu
Lot F337-338, 1st Floor,
1 Utama Shopping Centre.
Tel: (03) 77253322
Fax: (03) 77256322

Auntie Anne's @ 1 Utama (New Wing)

On boxing day, my mum & i went gai-gai @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

It was the second time my mum is here after its expansion few years ago. It was still new and many shops weren't open at new wing then. So it was a "WOW" for my mum and we, Yup, it's "We" have difficulty locating the shops with its new interactive directory. Maybe i'm just not so IT-savvy??? It was my first time using too. An advanced technology but hmm... Maybe 1-U is just too big.

We reached 1-U around noon and we had a dinner appointment at 8pm at The Curve with mum's ex-colleagues some 20+ yrs ago. Both of us just wanted to take things slow and easy for the day. No rush, No rush for the last day in KL. Just wanted to have some mother-and-daughter time together *wink*

Since we had a light breakfast before we left Uncle Vincent & Aunty Ling's place, so we had...

Pretzel @ Auntie Anne's RM 4.00

Located at Lower Ground at the new wing, its location is not to be missed. Right beside Cinnabon, we had a pretty hard time deciding which to eat. Pretzel shall it be. So it was, Almond Pretzel with Chocolate dip. Dipping is free of charge for every pretzel purchased but extra dipping costs an additional RM 1.00. Both of us love the freshness and the chewy texture of Auntie Anne's pretzel. The almond bits turned out to be my mum's favourite. Slightly caramelised almond was crunchy and it complemented the chewy texture of the pretzel perfectly!

Btw, you can find many Auntie Anne's branches all around in Singapore but i never patronise any of them. Back in Malaysia, even it is priced at RM 4, i would still buy.... Because... It's cheaper than Singapore!!! Lol..

A snapshot in Padini Concept Store. A deco i like a lot and i love the Mini Cooper in red!!!

Isn't it interesting for a red mini to appear in a store? Cool eh?

Home-made Pasta

Homemade Fusilli with Brinjal & Capsicum in Simple Tomato Sauce

A ticket to JB - RM 7.50
A phone call - RM 0.30
A plate of homemade pasta - Priceless

Sounds familiar? Haha, yup. The time spent with my brother in his humble-rented apartment with three handsome-bachelor residents. It was indeed priceless. *wink*

I was referring to the time spent with my brother as priceless, What are you thinking ??? Hah. It was a surprise visit to my brother.

It wasn't meant to be a visit.

Actually i was on my way back to Singapore while transiting at JB. Being too bored, i decided to give a call to my beloved brother in JB to tease & tempt him of all the good food i had at home, including "telling" him i "ta bao"=packed homecooked food from home to bring back to Sg. He, happily mistaken me sending homecook food for him. It was a bit complicated and I also didn't know how i ended being fetched by him at Larkin & the next thing i know i was already at his rented apartment, 1km away from Larkin. *my bro kept emphasized "my place is only 1KM away from larkin"*

Homecooked pasta was what he managed to whip up to welcome my first visit to his place.

My brother dotes on me a lot. All the little gestures showed it all.

Capsicum, brinjal & a handful of fusilli were all he had. Added with lots of love of a brother for extra flavour.

A bowl of Campbell Soup was all I can offer, using whatever that was leftover.

Mum's cooking is still the best! "Stainless-steel Pot Chicken" is what I meant. Well-marinated and full of flavour. Having it for 3 meals in 3 days was not bored at all.

At the end of the day, my brother was robbed by his little sister of his starbucks voucher.

It will be our next date. I promise...... together with mum & dad, hopefully...

Bruschetta @ Hall 8

I was watching TV programme at my beloved QQ's room.
With the rest playing Mahjong.
I never learn how to play.

QQ says "don't bother to teach her", cos i always forget what i've learnt, even after Many Many times of viewing their MJ session.

No talent in Mahjong, perhaps.
But... I always wanted to learn, but without playing with $$$ *hint hint* Any taker?

So back to my room, there I go.
Left my key in QQ's room all alone.
Slippers i changed, downstairs i went.
To get my poor key was my aim.
To get back to my room, to bathe and sleep.
But... But... But...
Hijacked, there and then.
And this was what i did in the end.

Bruschetta with diced tomato in herbs & olive oil and mozzerella cheese

Being asked to be a Sous Chef, how could i resist??? Lol...

And we made, Bruschetta!!!

" Bruschetta is a food whose origin dates to at least the 15th century from central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular American recipe involves basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomato. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. "

It was tedious, for the 9 slices of Bonjour Herb Loaf, we took almost an hour to prepare. Restricted by the mini oven, or should i call it toaster instead, it's so small, food production was extremely slow. =(

People waiting and calling out for their supper, i heard from the pantry. They were drawn by the luscious buttered toast.

After a few mishaps, like

• "The Fell of Cherry Tomato" by JOjo on the way to pantry,
• "The Fell of Freshly Grilled Bruschetta in the Oven" by JOjo too and
• "The Sticking of The Cheese on The Glass Panel" by our Ms.Shu Pei who claimed that she would make sure no more mishap happen to our Bruschetta,
  

our supper was finally ready to be served. Yeah!!!

The effort of putting the bread in and out of the oven for 3 times was paid off. Every bite of the Bruschetta was crispy and burst with the aromatic smell of butter and garlic. Extremely delectable!

A glass of Nepal's Mint tea (with compliment by ShuPei) with NTUC's honey and a slice of freshly made Bruschetta, Hall life couldn't be any better. Just for this once...

Ps: All the ingredients were provided by Swifthawk, with compliments. Lotsa thanks!

"Cooking is such a joy, with friends who love the process of cooking too..."

Kahang Pau @ Night

Kahang is a small town, located at the outskirt of Kluang.

It's a town with just a street of double-storey shophouses and some housing estate. One couldn't believe in why so many banks swamp there to open their branches. Probably that's the attraction of a town rich in oil palm plantation.

Wild animals are commonly found in the restaurants in Kahang. Wild boar? Deer meat? Little cutie squirrel? Too common? Or would you like some bats? Crocodile? Or some exotic animals like tiger meat or bear palm? You name it, and it will be served on your dining table in no time.

But this is not what i wanted to introduce. What i wanted to introduce is this.

The man behind the scence, selling the yummylicous Kahang Pau

"A scene i'm so familiar with. A scene i miss. "

The uncle will always come at around 5+pm,just before 6pm to set up his little stall located at Jalan Lambak. Putting up the table, taking out the gas cylinder, stacking of the bamboo steaming tray and arranging the pau before he heads into heating up the pau and manning the stall for the rest of the night.

I've eaten the pau since young. During the late nights spent in my mum's office. Or just a pau for supper after attending church's prayer meeting. It holds my childhood memories.

He sells a varieties of pau. No too many though, but it's enough to appeal to customers like me. Reasonably priced for the yummy tasting pau, he has many regulars as well as customers who would just stop at the side of the stall to get a few of it.

Peanut Pau, Red Bean Pau, Kaya Pau, Veggie Pau are all priced at RM1 while my favourite of all time Lian Rong Pau (Sweet Lotus Paste Pau) is only selling at 70cents. Small Pau or Little Meat Pau and Char Siew Pau are priced at RM 1.20 and Big Pau is RM 2.30. He also sells Nor Mai Gai which is Steam Glutinous Rice with chicken and it is priced at RM 2.30.

"Never really treasure those days. It seems so common. So plain you might say. "

But now, i missed the chance of holding the warm pau in my hand, especially on a cold rainy night. Or what i miss the most is the pau bought by my dad & mum? I seriously don't know.

"Chewing on the handmade bun with piping hot filling, happiness filled my heart."

Then now i resorted to eating Kong Guan Pau in Singapore, which you didn't need to peel the skin off. (FYI, you can't get to peel it off anyway. It just stucked to the bun itself) And the bun has no texture at all =(

A Simple Peanut Pau that can bring a smile to my face

It was a joy when i managed to patronise his stall last friday when i was back in Kluang. I insisted that i want to buy a pau despite my family were going to have dinner right after that. The child in me was calling out for the familiar food that i missed when i was in Singapore. I wanted to get Lian Rong Pau but uncle said it wasn't hot yet. So i resorted to another fav of mine, peanut pau! The texture of the pau was just so right, soft yet chewy, with the sweet roasted peanut filling. Sugar grains were found in the filling and it added to the flavour and made the filling a little crunchy.

"And this is one of the things I missed, from my beloved town of Kluang...."

"Sometimes, enjoying the simplicity of life can be a form of happiness..."

Located at:
125, Jalan Lambak
86000 Kluang,Johor.

Lunch @ Maxwell Food Centre

We said we are going to Bugis for shopping, cos Chun Chun wanted to buy New Year clothings. We wanted to help her makeover. We wanted to tag along. But it was last week.

This week. Everybody was too lazy to go shopping. No mood. Overwhelmed by lectures after lectures for the whole week. And it was only the second week since school started. Getting tired, faster than any other semester. At least for me...

A meal would be good.

In the end, there were 11 of us. Trying to conquer Maxwell. Trying... Trying... Haha...

Too much Dried Kiwi during lesson, keeping me awake yet made me felt bloated, even at 2pm.

I was looking for something that was not too heavy.

Browsing through the stalls. I like this food centre. Lots of variety though the food items sold are pretty generic.

I wanted to try everything but limited space in my tummy restricted me from doing so.

The little Hakka in me was pretty active on Friday. So when i saw this stall (Stall 32), i decided to order a bowl of Hakka Tou Fu @ $3.00. There were 2pcs of white toufu, 2pcs of Tou Fu Pok (Fried Toufu) & 2pcs of fish paste wrapped in Beancurd Skin. The Toufu's size was big and the stuffing was homemade. But i was expecting more. The stuffing wasn't really flavourful, just plain pork. The meat wasn't well-seasoned and the texture was too soft. A little bit of disappointment but Yu Chii said it was pretty nice. Different people different taste, i guess?

Hakka Yong Tau Fu @ $3.00

But something else surprised me.

This stall doesn't only sell Yong Tau Fu. They also have some other Hakka Dishes such as Shuan Pan Zi (Da-Pu Yam Nuggets) and Mei Chai Kou Rou (Braised Pork Slice with Mei Cai Veg).

Shuan Pan Zi @ $3.00

The Shuan Pan Zi was pretty good. Topped with fried shallots and spring onions which added crunchiness to the dish. An authentice Hakka dish which is not my favourite when i was in Kluang. But now, i sort of miss it. My evil twin said the one made by her grandmum tastes better. Duh...Homemade vs Hawker Centre. How to compare ???

We also had the Pisang goreng recommended by ieatishootipost which was superb. The Pisang Raja was moist and soft. The batter was crispy. A perfect Pisang Goreng! But priced at $1.20, a little too expensive for me.

Ice Kacang @ $1.20

We ordered a cup of High-Calcium Soy Bean. A tint Horlicks taste together with the thick homemade Soy Bean drink, it's a pretty filling yet satisfying after-meal-drink. Ice Kacang topped with peanuts from Red Bean Peanut House ended our meal and you know what? We all prefer the ice-kacang without the peanut topping. *lol*

A simple meal with my school friends. Not much of such oppurtunity to dine out as a group. I think this is the first time after 2 1/2 years of studies in NTU. So, it's time to go out more, folks!

Hehe... Then i can take more food pics.... *wink*

Lunch @ Ah Cheng Bistro

Home coming,
that's where i am longing......
For some breath-taking,
to where i belonging......

Lian Seng Foodcourt or also known as Suria Foodcourt

A few streets away from the bus station,
Waiting for "the lunch" instruction,
With the phonecall i just returned,
That's where my dad asked us to station......

Thunder Tea Rice/"Ham Cha" @ RM3.00

Two bowls of "thunder tea" rice were on our table,
for the two ladies who were very sober,
Fiber and Minerals, a bowl of soup included,
at the price of RM 3, is this the healthiest meal in the world?

"Uncle, ADD SOUP pls...." at the cost of one dollar RM1 sahaja,
All you gotta do is to go there and order.
Bits of crunchy peanuts & crunchy vegetables,
Being a Hakka, is my honour.

A Stall that has been around for a long long time...

Daddy was wondering,
What he should be eating.
He did the ordering,
Even without thinking!

Yong Tau Foo, minimum order of RM3 inclusive of rice/choice of noodle

Not the Ampang Yong Tau Foo,
But is Mr.Zhang's Yong Tau Foo,
Not to try, you're a fool,
Cos it tastes very good too~

Located at:

Lian Seng Garden,

Behind Lian Seng Market.

86000 Kluang,

Johor.