Lai Lai Casual Dining

We entered Lai Lai because the set meals looked pretty worth it. There was a 2-person set meal for $28++. It included your choice of claypot meat, vegetables, some side dish (we ordered deep fried sotong), 2 drinks, 2 bowls of rice and 2 bowls of soup. the claypot herbal chicken was pretty good, although the portions were a little small. the rest of the dishes were so-so. the sotong's batter wasn't the awesome kind of deep-fried batter,...

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Annoying Singaporean #1

Basically, in Singapore, on escalators, you have to keep to the LEFT. no matter what you did in your home country, it's LEFT LEFT LEFT in Singapore! it used to be anything, but in the last couple of years, we started standing left.At first, it was terrible. nobody adhered to it and everybody was still blocking the traffic. truth to be told, the situation is so much better than it was, say, 5 years ago. But still, nobody complains if there's still...

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Canele Patisserie

I don't set foot in places that scream atas. Atas means upstairs in malay. So, atas in urban language, means high class. Canele is exactly the place that will shock you will how atas it looks from the outside. But since it was for a classmates gathering, I suppose I will have to exchange some good conversations for an empty pocket. By the way, the name is so atas then we had some problem trying to figure how to pronounce the first part. (We didn't...

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Dorayaki @ Nex Mall

I always loved those Japanese pancake (fish shaped) with red bean inside. Yesterday I went to NEX mall (first time there- huge mall!) and I chanced upon this shop selling dorayaki. Dorayaki is doraemon's favourite food! okay that was besides the point. Anyway, they make the dorayaki fresh on the spot. It was pretty cheap too, $1.20 for a original red bean pancake. They had many flavours to choose from, including durian paste, peanut...

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Singapore: Tutu Kueh

The amount of grievances I have with regard to bad tutu kueh can fill a book- The flour is too hard, the flour is not fluffy, the filling inside is pathetic, and most importantly, the cost of tutu kueh has increased over the years! I know it best because I have been eating tutu kueh for as long as I can remember. It used to be 5 for $2, now it's now $2.50 or $2.80 for a box of 5. But still, I love good tutu kueh even though it's now more expensive....

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Is there No Place on Earth for Me?

I bought this book as part of a necessary read for one of my courses. It was to understand what it was like to have schizophrenia. It's a pretty old book, but the relevance of it does not fade with time. Sylvia Frumkin was a highly intelligent girl whose mental condition began when she was a teen as a result of her parents’ high expectations and denial, and possibly misdiagnosis and mistreatment at several junctures. A keen admirer of actors...

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Eating Animals

After reading this book, I stopped eating meat for three days but that was about it. Not to be mistaken for a bad book, this book was in fact very well researched and backed up by credible research. It does not preach about vegetarianism, but it lets you make your own informed choice after learning the truth about the industry. Foer manages to present facts in an objective manner, coupled with his own experience in trying to sneak into animal farms...

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Pineapple Tarts

I love pineapple tarts, the more butter, the better. Here's an earlier post on pineapple tarts: http://rollingwrites.blogspot.com/2011/06/singapore-pineapple-tarts.htmlThe thing about eating is that, sometimes ignorance is bliss. The copious amount of butter and sugar added into pineapple tarts is pretty scary. But for good food, some sacrifice is necessary, in the form of additional fats. The first time I did it, I nearly fainted from chopping the...

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Ondeh Ondeh

I made some ondeh ondeh one Sunday afternoon when both my mum and I were particularly bored. They took something like 2+ hours to make, probably because I'm noob at trying to stuff the gula melaka into the green dough!Anyway, this adapted recipe comes from a favourite blog of mine Seasaltwithfood. Ingredients250g glutinous rice flour200 ml of pandan juice (blend 10 pandan leaves with 220 ml water)150 g gula melaka, finely chopped100 g grated coconut...

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Singapore: Ondeh Ondeh

Seriously, I have never figured out how to spell ondeh ondeh. Everybody pronounces it as oneh oneh. Whatever the case, I have had a few mishaps with ondeh ondeh. But having mishaps with ondeh ondeh is a good thing- it proves that it's a good ondeh ondeh.Ondeh ondeh are small round balls, made of glutinous rice flour or sweet potato. Pandan juice is added into the dough, and gula melaka (palm sugar) is added into it. Then it is rolled with grated...

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Singapore: Ang Ku Kueh

Ang Ku Kueh means Red Tortoise Cake. It's normally filled with ground peanut, red bean paste or green bean paste. The skin is made from glutinous rice flour. It is then placed on a banana leaf. It's a dish that is bought as breakfast, supper, or simply just as a snack. An auspicious snack (red in colour), its tortoise shape means longevity. (Plus it's cheap- around 60 cents a piece) Well, to be honest, I'm not a big fan of angkukueh because I find...

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Singapore: Pineapple tarts

Pineapple tarts are synonymous with Chinese New Year. During the festive season, pineapple tarts are everywhere to be seen, it will be difficult not to see it! While it is not exactly considered a "Singaporean" kind of food, it is very popular among Singaporeans. Pineapple is also known as onglai, which means prosperity. (Mark my words, these prosperity will show on your tummy if you eat too many pineapple tarts!)There are many kinds of pineapple...

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Singapore: Hainanese Chicken Rice

The truth is: There is good chicken rice and there is bad chicken rice.Hainanese chicken rice can be considered the national dish of Singapore. You see it at every corner of Singapore, hawker centres, school canteens, high class restaurants, and even on Singapore Airlines. That's how much Singaporeans love our chicken rice.There are a few components to chicken rice that will make or break the dish. There is the chicken (duh), the rice, the sauces...

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Giordano's Pizzeria (Chicago)

Why why why? Why is there no deep dish in Singapore? I still think of the deep dish pizza at Giordano's ever so often.It was very crowded during lunchtime and the pizza took a long time to come. (more than half an hour). But, it was worth the wait. Before the pizza came, we ordered a few pieces of garlic bread first because we were really hungry. The bread was really soft and light! The star of the day- We ordered a spinach deep dish. It was oh-so-yummy!...

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Singapore: Rojak

Uh, what does rojak mean? There are two uses.1) Singapore is a rojak society. (adj)2) Uncle, I want a plate of rojak! (noun)In both instances, rojak actually means some kind of mix. There are two kinds of rojak sold in Singapore. One is the Indian rojak, the other is the fruit rojak. The Indian rojak consists of potatoes, eggs, beancurd and prawns.I normally eat the fruit rojak, which normally consists of cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts, deep fried...

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Singapore: National Orchid Garden

This is a garden oasis in the city centre. Situated in the Singapore Botanical Gardens, the National Orchid Garden attracts both orchid lovers and people just looking for a place to chill. Orchirds holds a very special position in the nation's heart. The Vanda Miss Joquim is the national flower of Singapore. (No, the picture below is not the Vanda Miss Joquim- I just found the closest looking). I went on a weekday afternoon, the weather...

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Modern Pastry (Boston)

So, the fight is between Modern Pastry and Mike's Pastry. Apparently, Mike Pastry always wins, judging from the queue. But I've eaten at both, and I say, I prefer Modern Pastry!Why I like the canolis better here than Mike Pastry is because it's smaller- it's easier to eat, and makes you feel less guilty about the calories that you're going to put on anyway (self delusion, I know). I tried the one with the chocolate filling. I like how it's thin and...

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