Crystal Jade Hong Kong Cafe@Orchard Central

I was totally bored and started looking for places that we can explore during lunch. Was looking for somewhere not too expensive, not too crowded and near to office. It so happened that there was an article online about this place and I was pretty attracted to the write up on the giant bowl noodle.

Instead of going during lunch, I suggest this place when we were thinking of where to eat for dinner with some cols.We went a little past 8pm and was quite surprised to find it only about 50% full given its location in Orchard.

The super long escalator that brought us up to the Cafe. I read that this is the most direct and easiest way to find the place.We had to take a few of these long escalators to reach the eating place on the 7th Floor. It offered a nice view of the Orchard area but having said that, if you have a phobia of height, I would suggest that you take the lift in the building.

The extensive menu that was placed before us. As with all Hong Kong Cafes, we had to check the items that we wanted on the order slip. There were so many items on the menu, accompanied with nice food pictures. It took us some time to decide what we wanted to eat. A little spoilt for choice :P

The Hong Kong (HK) Milk Tea ($3.90) and HK Yuan Yang ($3.90) that we ordered. The waitress brought the two vase like containers with the tea and shot glasses that resembles the leaning tower of Pisa to our table and then started pouring water into the "vases".  Little did we know that there were dry ice in it and smoke came pouring out. I was so enthralled by the presentation that I kept snapping away. ;)

Deep Fried Calamari ($6.90) that we ordered to share.

The Giant Bowl Noodle($10.90), served with Spicy Noodle. When the waitress brought it to the table, you can see the shocked looks on my cols' faces as the bowl was really big. I think the bowl is so big I can actually steam my face in it! hahaha. There were lots of ingredients in it too! So much so that you cannot even see the noodles below it.

My Giant Bowl Noodles served with Japanese Style La Mian. In it, there were Fish fillet, Tempura Chicken Chop, Pork Chop, 2 xTempura Prawns, 2 x mussels, plenty of Sotong (Cuttlefish) and a sunny side up. The amount of ingredients in this giant bowl really makes this value for money and really fills you up quickly.

My uniquely presented meal. :) That is my giant bowl after digging out some of the ingredients for a photo shot.. hee.. You can really see how big the bowl is with the chopsticks as comparsion.

Simply loved the idea of my tea being served in this way. I call it the "Leaning Shot Glass and Boiling Flask".

The almost empty boiling flask :P

Overall, the food is considered not bad. We even got a 10% discount on the spot for spending more than $50. The more you spent, the more discount you will get. I remembered there were 3 different tier of discount but cant exactly remember how much you need to spend. The place is also suitable for big groups but you may want to call to make reservations before going down. 

Pretty interior of the place.

Crystal Jade Hong Kong Cafe @ Orchard Central

181 Orchard Road #07-15

Tel: 6509 3118

Photos taken with SE C905

Restoran Asli - Malaysia

This is my second visit to Restoran Asli. Thanks to a friend for bringing me there. It is about an hour's journey from my home provided there is no jam at the custom. Love the tranquility of the place, the laidback lifestyle and of course, the freshness of the food. I doubt you can find another place in Singapore where you can just space out, relax and enjoy good food at unbelievable prices.Even Pulau Ubin is too commercialise nowadays.

We went to the Restaurant at a neither here nor there timing and was slightly intimidated when we walked in as the staff were all sitting around at the entrance, resting and waiting for the crowd to arrive. They were literally staring at us and it did make me hesitant in pushing on. I almost wanted to turn and leave. Luckily, i didn't.. hahaha

The boss came very quickly and asked for our order. Not knowing what we wanted, the boss assisted in the ordering by naming us all the items available, by categories. I ended up making the bulk of the order and below were what we ended up with.

Seafood Toufu (RM6). We ordered this the last time too. Seems like a staple to order. Even children love them. The toufu this time round is not as smooth as the last and does not melt in your mouth. I am not sure if it was because we took too long to take photos or the heat of the oil was not high enough to cook the toufu properly (due to us arriving way too early for dinner).

Huang Di Miao (RM6). Decided to order a veg different from our usual. This was quite nicely done. Not too old, not too young and not too gluey (you will know what I mean if you have eaten huang di miao before.)

Baby Sotong (RM8). The baby sotong here is slightly different from what I had in mind. I was expecting to see a plate of dark and crispy baby sotong which are fried to death. Instead, we got a plate of pretty meaty sotong, each about the length of your thumb, lightly dusted with a batter and fried till they were just golden brown. I would  not called them baby any more, maybe "toddler", and if they were any bigger, I'd probably not be able to eat them whole as it woud get too squeamish for me to look at them in the eye. :P

Crab (RM 30.30). Cannot rememeber the exact name of this dish but remembered that it was stir-fried with curry leaves, hay bi (dried shrimps) and belachan. The meat of the crab was very tender and juicy. We decipher that the crab was steam-cooked before it was stir-fried with the remaining ingredients so that the original flavour of the crab will be locked in. Depending on your preference, if you like the flavour of the dried shrimps and belachan to be infused into the crab meat, this may not be for you. I'm ok with this as I get to taste the freshness and sweetness of the crab and at the same time, the fragrance of the hay bi ;)

Deep-fried Man Tou (RM3.20 for 4). What is eating crab without some deep-fried man tou?? I love the man tou here. They were fried to perfection. Golden brown , crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. Perfect accompaniment to the crab and provides the carb for the meal.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal! Good and fresh food, with a nice breeze, near the sea and (almost) under the stars and does not damage your pocket. What more can you ask for? :) As we ate our food, the smell of piping hot food keep whiffing by and we cannot help but let our eyes stray to the variety of food that was served at the other tables. By the time we finished our dinner, the place was almost 80% full. Considered very good business given its remote location.

Over run our timing to leave the place before sunset and took this night shot while enduring mosquitoes bites. The place has an entirely different feel at night. Even more peaceful and beautiful than during the day.

Restoran Asli, Johor Bahru

Photos taken with Nikon D50 (resolution reduced)

Baikohken Ramen @ North Canal Road

A col brought us to this Ramen Place at North Canal Road. It is a very small eatery that is opened by a Japanese. The owner is the chef himself and heard that most of the ingredients were directly imported from Japan.

There was already a queue when we arrived and while waiting for our seats, caught a glimpse of the type of Ramen offered outside the shop. The sign above says it all. We also spotted a few Japanese eating at this place so the food must be quite good.

For such a small place, I would say that the variety of Ramen is decent. It is also good place to eat for people like me cos I do not have to spend a long time pouring over the menu deciding what to eat.:P All you have to do here is to decide the soup base you want, from Miso, Shio (salt), or Shoyu (Soya Sauce). Next, pick what you would like to eat: - Normal , Butter and Cream, Char Siew and Vegetable, and your order is done! Of course if you would like some sides, they do have Gyoza available too.

While waiting for our ramen, we were served ice cold unpolished barley drink which was really light and  refreshing.

My Shoyu Ramen came topped with plenty of greens which all of us thought was spring onions but was actually Japanese leeks as confirmed by the chef. I had added eggs to my ramen and really liked how the yolk is runny while the white is firm. The meat in my ramen was buried by the leeks so I had to dig it out in order to get a picture of it. LOL. The meat was generous and so tender that I actually tore it apart while "digging" it out. :P

Look at the texture of the meat. It was very well prepared and really very tender. Thumbs up!

There were some bamboo shoots in the ramen too. I have never like bamboo shoots because you can smell them from a metre away. Surprisingly, the bamboo shoots here do not have that smell. I took the courage to try after hearing that it is quite nicely done from my cols. All I can say is, eating bamboo shoots is an acquired taste which I have yet to acquire!  :p

My col's Shio Ramen. The noodles were done really properly. It is springy and does not stick to your teeth.

Another col's Miso Char Siew Ramen. We all went "wow" when we saw this big bowl of Char Siew Ramen topped with generous portion of Char Siew and leeks. It was so full that the soup almost overflowed from the bowl. :D

Another col's Butter and Corn Miso Ramen. Didn't get to try it but was told that the corn is very sweet.

I must say that this is one Ramen that really pushes me on. There was still a lot left even after I had eaten for very long. Had to take a break before finally preceeding to finish it up. The portion is really BIGger than normal. Even the guys commented that the portion was big.. Hahaha.. We should have opted for the half size one that was available.

Overall, this is one nice place for Ramen but do not expect to be able to sit around and chat after your meal during lunch. Just be sure to go earlier if you do not want to stand in the queue during the lunch. Alternatively, can opt to go for dinner when it is less crowded. :)

Baikohken Ramen
7 North Canal Road
Tel: 6534 3808
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 15:00 and 17:00 - 22:00 (last order at 21:30)

http://www.baikohken.com/








Photos taken with SE C905 (resolution reduced)

Sweetest Moments - Baby's 1st Month Gift

This is the sweetest baby’s Full Month giftbox I have ever received! We usually get vouchers in return for our blessing but this time round, I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to find this blue package on my desk when i came back from lunch on Friday.

The giftbox itself is already so sweet! Upon opening it, you can really feel the effort that was put into putting the entire package together. There were 5 different items, 2 from each, namely, Ang Ku kueh, glutinous rice, swiss rolls, mochi and red eggs which were “dressed up” with sticker ribbon with cute bears on it .There was even a customised card with the baby’s details and thank you note.

The food in the package was very yummy too. I personally like the glutinous rice though I’m not really a glutinous rice person. It was very fragrant and not too oily. Makes you reach out for more. : ) Guess many of us were wow-ed by this present and it does set the bench mark for future 1st Month's gift. :P Apparently many artisites, like Daryl David, and James Lye, etc, also use Sweetest Moments for their baby’s Full month! They also do wedding and cupcakes too so if you need something different, can definitely consider trying them out :)

 Close up of the sticker ribbon on the egg.

Photos taken with SE C905