Ji De Chi (记得吃) @ Jurong Point 2

Near to FairPrice Xtra located at level 3 of Jurong Point 2, there is a new dessert outlet named Ji De Chi which translate to “Remember to eat” in Mandarin. They serve Hong Kong style of desserts such as glutinous rice balls, pastes, shaved ice and pastries.

Interior of the shop makes you feel that they started out from the streets of Hong Kong

This outlet is considered quite spacious compared to some other dessert shops I’ve been to such as Far East Shopping Centre or Chinatown. However, you can still see people going in and out very often and you might expect to queue during weekend nights. This could also be a cause as the staff kept asking us if we were ready to order.

Almond Paste with Black Glutinous Rice Balls – S$3.50/-

As I felt like eating any of the hot paste desserts, I found this rather interesting due to the glutinous rice balls as shown in the picture and therefore I ordered this dessert. However, I kind of felt cheated when it came to me as instead of rice balls, there were 2 lumps of black glutinous rice in the almond paste. Aesthetic points failed. Taste wise, just passed my standard. If you were wondering if there is anything inside the rice balls like I did, sad to say no. Surprise points failed.

Sweet in Heart – S$4.50/-

The dessert my fiancée ordered is called Sweet in Heart which is one of their specialties. If you had been to any Hong Kong styled dessert shop, you would notice that this is familiar to you and it is more commonly known as Mango with Pomelo Sago (Yang Zhi Gan Lu or 杨枝干露). So what’s so different from the way this shop served for them to claim it a specialty and cost more expensive than the usual? First, this dessert is usually served cold and some shops put shaved ice. For Ji De Chi’s version, their shaved ice appeared to be in a light shade of orange and clustered together. Next, instead of a normal thick mango puree, their version seems more watery, milky and not as sweet. It is something different and fresh from the usual. It also tasted better than what I ordered.

Overall verdict, there is still a lot of desserts in the menu that we had yet to try and the staff are generally polite. The total bill came to S$8/- for the two desserts. We would definitely come back as it is the nearest alternative for us rather than to go to Chinatown to have authentic Hong Kong style of dessert.

Miss Clarity Café @ Purvis Street

It was ages ago since we went back to Miss Clarity Café which was located near to the National Library at Bugis. The shop has been there for quite some time and I remembered how long my girlfriend and I had to wait to get a table; it wasn’t the same as before though. For a weekend evening, it was rather quiet and we immediately got a table.

Interior of the Café

This place is good for gatherings and the crowds are mostly youngsters or working adults. The pricing of the menu is still considered affordable and you won’t have to crack your head thinking since the prices are inclusive of GST.

Premium Set Menu

The menu had been through several changes: some names, prices and set menu. I used to order either the chicken/fish cordon bleu or their ‘Old Macdonald have a farm’ which had been renamed to Palette of Cuts (Mixed Grill). We ordered the fish cordon bleu and the mixed grill to share so that we can have a taste of different varieties of meat.

The barley drink which tasted bland


The Amuse Bouche (Pre-Starter) – inclusive in the set

I am not sure if the pre-starter changes everyday but you might want to avoid having too much of it. The amuse bouche we had was a base of onions that has gone through the process of sweating (but still a bit raw) and topped with what we think is egg white. My fiancée and I didn’t fancy it too much due to the onions.

The Lobster Bisque – inclusive in the set

Not too bad, but maybe only to an average soup standard. A bit too salty and slightly sour, there isn’t much of a thing to tell that it is lobster bisque. There is a hint of fragrance of cream in the aftertaste and the cheese crostini is slightly warmed up. I find it a rather fresh taste comparing to have garlic bread over and over again. Overall, I think Jack’s Place Lobster Bisque will win this anytime.

Palette of Cuts (Mixed Grill) – S$18.80/-

My fiancée and I used to order this and share it as the portion can be too much for a single person to finish. This time we ordered another main just in case it has shrink in size. The portion no doubt has shrunk by a small fraction but it can still be a challenge for a lady to handle alone. Use to be named ‘Old Macdonald have a farm’, it contains sunny-side egg, potato wedges, grilled steak, lamb, pork, chicken, ham, bacon and chipolata.

This time it was not as well executed as before. The chicken was discovered to be raw in the center when we cut it. The staff whom we alerted about this took my plate and went off into the kitchen. He didn’t have the courtesy of giving me another plate and I ended up plateless until I could ask for it from another staff. About 5 minutes later, the same guy came back with my plate and the same pieces of chicken on it. The pieces of chicken went through a make-over course in the grill and came back drenched with more sauce. Now that the chicken was fully cooked, the skin became charred and it caused the taste to turn bitter. They never even apologized or say anything about it. The medium rare steak also came out to be rather raw but it was still acceptable and we wouldn’t want to risk it to end up like the chicken.

Fish Cordon Bleu – S$11.80/-

A sandwich of breaded fish fillet sandwiched with ham and cheese, the fish cordon bleu suffered less criticism compared to the mixed grill. Then again, I’m not saying that it doesn’t have its flaws too. This dish used to be one of our favourite as I think they were more generous with the cheese back then. Maybe we had set the expectation too high but I think it would have worked for me if there is more cheese in the center.

Mud Ooz – inclusive in the set

Warm and Creamy Center of Valrhona Chocolate

Hot chocolate dessert with vanilla ice-cream, this dessert works wonders for me. I like the warm and creamy texture of the Valrhona chocolate and it went well with the ice-cream as it is not too sweet. Just ordering this dessert cost S$5.00/- and I think that it is justified.

Overall, I think this place will deserve a second chance from us considering we had visited several times before and this was the only time we aren’t that satisfied. The total bill for this dinner came to a total of S$36.60/- for one premium set and one ala carte main. Hopefully they won’t do so badly the next time we come back.

Blue Mountain Café (B.M.C.) @ Iluma

On another weekend where we did not know what to eat, we were at Iluma @ Bugis when we came across a newly opened restaurant called Blue Mountain Café. As it was the month of National Day, they were having a promotion of 44% off total bill with a purchase of any main course, in celebration of Singapore’s 44th birthday. It will last for the whole month of August and with such an offer, we decided to give it a try.

Blue Mountain Café

The National Day Promotion (The Chinese proverbs written on the menu which did not really went well with the whole theme of the restaurant but that’s just an opinion)

The design of the restaurant is cozy and the lightings are dim to create a relaxing ambience. Unlike some restaurants where the waiters or waitresses who will keep coming to you to pester you to order your drinks first, the staff served us ice water even without being told and that’s service. But being a very observant person I am, I can’t help to realize that there are some water marks on the utensils which seriously isn’t that much of a problem for me since I can easily clean if off.

The Utensils (From the picture you can probably on see the water marks on the knife)



Rib Eye Steak – S$22.90/-

The medium-rare rib-eye steak that my fiancée ordered came first. Initially the steak seems like it was done exactly to medium rare and the choice of mushroom sauce went well with the steak. But slowly towards the center of the meat, the steak seems to be a tad towards the rare colour of redness and the taste also started to become a bit on the bland side. Towards the end, she started finding it a bit too bloody for her liking and there also seemed to be a lot of tough vein making it too chewy.

BBQ Back Ribs – S$16.90/-

Surprisingly this time, I’m not the one with the steak as I seldom forgo the choice of beef for anything else. The back ribs were served to me piping hot and I could hear a lady from the table beside us, telling her friend that why she didn’t get her back ribs served this hot. The ribs were serving was just nice and it was tender. But I think I still preferred the ribs from Café Cartel where it is honey-glazed instead of BBQ sauce. Both main courses come with the side dish of mashed potato and some poached vegetables but there is nothing to comment about it.

Overall, I think that it might be a good place to relax and have a drink but for meal wise I don’t think I would want to try again. The total bill came to S$26.24/- after the 44% discount for the two main courses. We were given a 30% discount return voucher which states for dinner only (530pm to 930pm) but maybe we’ll only use it if we can have a drink and eat desserts. If not… too bad cause too many good food awaits us =p

The Coffee Connoisseur (TCC) @ Shaw House

Another weekend outing and finally we decided to dine at TCC to fulfil my craving and curiosity to the taste of the scallops of their Seafood Aglio Olio. I had been curious at how would it taste as I’ve been seeing their posters a couple of times showing that.

The Coffee Connoisseur a.k.a. TCC

Naturally, I decided what I wanted almost immediately and even though my fiancée was thinking of trying other dishes, I ended up convincing her to eat the Seafood Aglio Olio with me.

Seafood Aglio Olio – S$18.80/-

The pasta was very well-done; it was sufficiently moist by the olive oil and there is a slight spicy taste which gives it the flavour. But it’s definitely not suitable for people who do not really like garlic as there was loads of minced garlic. We didn’t add the lemon as we prefer to have it the original taste of the seafood. There were three prawns and two scallops. The prawns are crunchy and tasty. The scallops failed my expectation by a bit as maybe I was a bit too harsh on it to compare it to the ones we had at Equinox. Overall, it the Seafood Aglio Oglio was worth it.

Lychee Jazz – S$6.20/-

This is the drink I ordered. Although it tasted not too bad, but I think I would not order this drink again. The drink has thick syrup at the bottom which I couldn’t dilute it too well with the soda. There is also a minty flavour which my fiancée thinks that it made the drink tasted like chewing gum. Towards the end of the drink, the ice cubes melted and causes the drink to taste a bit bland. It has only one lychee at the bottom.

Hazelnutella Milkshake – S$7.90/-

Now this is a new drink on the menu which my fiancée ordered. Now this is the drink that made mine looks pale in comparison. It is a must try for chocolate lovers. The milkshake have a very notable taste of hazelnuts and Nutella. This combination goes very well and it strongly reminds me of eating Ferraro Rocher chocolate. Even she agreed with me about the taste.

This TCC is located at level 2 of Shaw House, Isetan Scotts. The ambience is the same as every other TCC outlets from my observation. The only difference is the view of this outlet can see the new ION Orchard. The staffs are very polite and every one of them made sure they greet you. With membership card and some point redemption, this meal cost a total of S$49.95/-.

Equinox Restaurant @ Swissôtel the Stamford

The first time we dine at Equinox Restaurant was a few years back for my fiancée’s birthday, she really enjoyed herself and it was rated as her favourite restaurant. So this time on our 5 years anniversary and a very special day, 11.07.2009, we decided to revisit this place to pamper ourselves with nice food and ambience.

Equinox Restaurant

Located at the 70th floor of the Swissôtel, the lift from the 1st floor will bring up all the way up and you will feel the pressure working into your ears. The Equinox Restaurant is side-by-side with the New Asia Bar entrance, serves both Asian and Western cuisines. The decoration of the restaurant is more towards the Asian style with the ceiling and design of wooden interior. The very high glass window panels provide the breath-taking view of Singapore’s landscape and city lights.

The view of the evening sky, there was no sunset as it was cloudy

As I made the reservation for dinner at 06:30pm, the sky was still bright and we were able to view a totally different scenery from the previous time. Having the window seating allowed us to see the changes of the sky colour and the city lights slowly lit up the night. As it was July and National Day was getting near, we were able to see the rehearsal at the Marina Bay Floating Platform.

The table decorations (The energy-saving candlelight)

The French Baguette and the Olive Bread

The bread spread (from left to right): Salted Butter, Olive Oil and Cream Cheese with Pumpkin and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Prior to the main course, the restaurant provides complimentary bread to sustain your hunger. The previous time we were given a basket of breads of different variety and it was served with salted butter. This time the waiter came to us with a plate of different varieties of bread and you get to choose (Though the variety was lesser). We chose the French Baguette and the Olive Bread; I preferred my baguette as it was crispy on the crust and my fiancée said her Olive Bread tasted very special. The spread for the bread was nicely served on a plate; there was Salted Butter, Olive Oil and Cream Cheese with Pumpkin and Sun-dried Tomatoes. I like the creamy texture of the cheese and the sweetness of the tomatoes. The waiter came back time to time to check if we would like more bread.

Moroccan spiced Rack of Lamb with Feta Crust, Potato and Eggplant Bistilla with Pomegranate Molasses – S$52/-

Being a meat-lover, I ordered the Rack of Lamb dish and how it was served was a piece of art; it was so nice that I almost didn’t know where to start. The lamb was cooked to medium rare and it was so tender and juicy. It does not have an overpowering taste of herbs to season the piece of meat and it was probably the best piece of lamb I ever ate. Initially I was pretty turned-off by the eggplant dish from the menu but the Potato and Eggplant side exceeded both me and my fiancée’s expectation. Even though we did not like eggplants, the almond crispy crust wrapped on the outer surface of the mashed eggplant and potato was so good that I finished it without any difficulty.

Pan-Fried Japanese King Scallops with a Cod Fish Brandade, Served with Garlic Aioli, Persillade and Roasted Organic Plum Tomatoes – S$46/-

My fiancée was extremely delighted with her Japanese King Scallops, this dish made her decide that scallop will be her 2nd favourite food below Foie Gras. It came with four pieces of scallops on a base of Cod Fish Brandade and topped with a salad. The scallops tasted so fresh that it doesn’t taste that it was frozen. It was well-done on the surface yet the mid section was done to the medium so that the succulent and taste of freshness is sealed within. I like how the cod fish is prepare; it was a creamy paste that has a smooth and buttery texture to the tongue. Towards the end, she likes the scallop without the sauce to taste the original sweetness

The view of the night sky, the romantic scene of the city lights was superb

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Strawberries to celebrate our Anniversary

During the first visit, I made reservation online for her birthday and they gave her a complimentary birthday cake. This time I made the reservation online again for anniversary, seriously even I was caught off-guard when the waiter served us the cake (We though it would be the table behind us as they had a super grand dinner). At this point of time, the National Day rehearsal came to an end and the night sky was filled with fireworks (Even though it had begun to rain). It was a very romantic moment with the fireworks and the anniversary cake in front of us.

The fireworks embraced the rainy night sky

There is however, a change in their window seating policy, we paid additional S$20/- per person for the seats. The overall bill came to a total of S$162.34/- inclusive of GST for two of us. But I have to admit, it has the best ambience, service and food. It is a definitely romantic place and therefore it is highly recommended to bring your loved one for dinner on a special occasion.

Ps: On this special day, I proposed to her at another location later in the night. But dining at Equinox Restaurant set the mood and atmosphere right for it. =D

Major Update of my Life

On 11.07.2009, the 5 years anniversary of me and my girlfriend, Joanne. I proposed my love to her at 165 metres above ground level. Henceforth, she will now be known as my fiancée. =D

Fisherios @ Bugis

This was my 2nd visit with my girlfriend to the outlet at Bugis. It was recommended by my friend for the taste and the affordable pricing. From my knowledge, they have another outlet at the basement of Takashimaya but I had never tried there. We had tried the normal Fish N Chips and we remembered the desert was good. So that was what made us decided to come back.

Fisherios – Fish N Chips

This time we ordered the beer-battered Fish N Chips which was recommended by the staff as it was their trademark dish. I took the set of Fish N Chips (with chicken nuggets and prawn) which came with soup and drink. My girlfriend ordered the ala carte beer-battered Fish N Chips. The soup was clam chowder soup and drinks I chose iced peach tea.

For a soupy person like me, the soup was rather disappointing. It was rather too flourish and I seriously did not see a single tiny piece of clam. Taste was so-so and it came with a piece of garlic bread which at least they took the effort to warm up. I don’t recommend ordering if it does not come with the set.

Beer-battered Fish N Chips Set – S$10.90/-

Beer-battered Fish N Chips – S$8.90/-

The beer-batter Fish N Chips was pretty nice. Though I cannot compare it to the previous time I visited as it was quite some time back (but I find it nice too). The quantity was more compared to the previous time I went to Mad Jack Fish N Chips at Bukit Timah. There was a faint taste of beer in the batter and it was not over-powering for both me and my girlfriend as we are not fans of beer. However, I think it would have tasted better if there was more flavour of saltiness or marinate in the fish.

Fried Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream – S$2.90/-

The dessert was one of the main reasons we came back. There were only two desserts which are the fried brownies and the fried cheesecakes. We previously tried the fried brownies and were thinking of trying the fried cheesecakes for this time, but in the end we still go for the fried brownies as it was delicious. Different from the normal brownies with ice cream where they will warm up the brownies in a microwave oven, they fry the brownies and it gave it a crispy surface to the brownies. Chocolate desserts with vanilla ice cream are a fabulous combo. I just hope that they could have gave more brownies as they were rather stingy, giving the three small pieces.

The price is inclusive of GST and the dinner for both of us cost S$22.70/- in total. I think I would prefer Fisherios to Mad Jack for Fish N Chips but I could have given Mad Jack another chance. The dessert is a must-try and I think I would try the fried cheesecakes with comes with the vanilla ice cream as well.

Hot Stones @ Clarke Quay

Last Saturday my girlfriend and I went to Clarke Quay for my post-exam celebration dinner. Initially she had made plans to dine at a particular Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant at Central, but unfortunately, the said restaurant was no longer in operation. So we ended up going to the stretch of restaurants across Central.

While around looking, we came across a restaurant called "Hot Stones" and apparently they were having dinner promotion. We were informed that if we ordered a set from the list of items offered, we could get the same for the second set at S$10/-. Seeing that the price is value for money, we decided to give it a try.

Hot Stones - Steak and Seafood Restaurant

Promotion Set (Lunch: 12pm to 2pm and Dinner: 6pm to 8pm)

We were deciding between the Deluxe Surf 'n' Turf set (beef tenderloin, salmon and prawn) or the Deluxe Seafood Platter set (king prawn, salmon and scallop) but in the end I decided to choose the Surf 'n' Turf set as there was a mix of beef and seafood. The set comes with a salad, a choice of mashed potato, potato wedges or garlic rice. I chose mashed potato and my girlfriend chose the wedges.

There were red and green capsicums in the salad which I would normally pick them out but surprised by the salad dressing which I believe was soy sauce dressing was a good mix and I finished all the capsicums… for the very first time. =p

The very normal tasting side dishes =x

The Deluxe Surf 'n' Turf set - S$35/-

When the hot stone came, it appeared to be a very dry piece of stone and there wasn’t any grease provided. We decided to put the salmon first and true enough, the salmon stick onto the stone as it was too hot and dry. But it was a good thing we placed the salmon as the fats from the salmon started to moisturize the plate and it was easier when we cooked the prawns and the beef.

The dipping sauce (from left to right): Balsamic Vinegar, Red Wine Sauce and some lemon sauce



My favourite meat - Beef!!!

The salmon and the prawn at its best

Other than the food, the ambience of the restaurants was nice and the service was prompt. We chose to sit in the indoor as the weather was hot and we wouldn’t want to sweat while we eat. There are air vents in the indoor that were not very strong but at least we did not have the smell to linger on our clothes.

Both of us enjoyed our dinner and it was worth the money; a total of S$53/- for two person. We were looking forward to come back as the Deluxe Seafood Platter and the Sirloin sets look fantastic. We be back… for the promotion sets. =D