Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Revisit: Bedrock


Blogged about Bedrock here and here so not going to go into too much details just that Bedrock remains one of my favorite places to dine at and still the best place for a steak dinner.
I had the ribeye this time and I still very much prefer the pepper steak.

Steak (split half cos there is no way I can finish a 400g steak)

Arguably better than the steak? Mac and cheese mmm



Went in a bigger group this time round and had the chance of trying other sides + desserts.
The apple crumble was delightful. 

 Remember to get the Entertainer app before you head down to Bedrock. Cant beat 1-for-1 deals.
Sole reason why we got the 2015 version, here's to more great meals in this new year!

96 Somerset Road
#01-05 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Orchard
Singapore 238163
6238-0054


Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Boston Seafood Shack

The lobster roll trend is going strong here, with many restaurants jumping on the bandwagon; kudos to Boston Seafood Shack for being one of the first ones to introduce a "budget" version.


Going at only $18, I wasnt expecting much when I ordered this. But hey maybe lowering expectations worked because I was pleasantly surprised that this was pretty tasty and chockful with ingredients albeit not all lobster (what you expect, only $18 )
If only the bun was softer. Tasted like the Gardenia hotdog bun, maybe it was.


Went to the one at Tampines
#B1-02 Tampines Mall
4 Tampines Central 5
Singapore 529510
6789 6166



Friday, December 19, 2014

Two Wings + Immanuel French Kitchen


Salute coffeeshop at Bukit Merah must be the coolest coffeeshop in Singapore. The typical drink stall sells unique draft beer and then we have your choice of Western food - French, Seafood, German and lastly Two Wings.

Too many options and too little stomach space (just the two of us that day) so we decided on 2 stalls.


Duck confit from Immanuel French Kitchen. Very creamy mash and I love that the duck confit wasnt too salty. Great dish and very good price of course haha


Couldnt resist this. Huge plate of cheese fries from two wings. Tasted like how it looked I guess, gooey delicious sinfulness.


Finally. What we came here for, wings from two wings and damm were they good. Crispy and wonderfully marinated with a good crunch. Probably the best wings I have had in Singapore.
Must try. 


Blk 119 Bukit Merah Lane 1
 #01-40
 Singapore 151119




Friday, December 12, 2014

Tokyo Diary Pt 5 - July 2014


Only in Japan - weirdly shaped, ridiculously expensive fruit. I love going to the supermarkets, all sorts of interesting stuff to see + free samples! 

Popped by Uoriki Kaisen Sushi (B1 Tokyu Dept store, connected to Shibuya station) for another sashimi breakfast. The fish here was extremely fresh and so cheap! Highly recommended!

Chirashi Don


My sushi set. So good.  (Btw this cost less than SGD20) 


I amused the chef by butchering my request for uni sushi. But omg, this was so good and fresh I basically moaned in the restaurant eating this. And only SGD3. Sigh I miss Japan. 




At the museum of yebisu beer which was quite disappointing, far too small; we completed the tour in about 15 mins. 


Our favourite place in Tokyo - Uniqlo! I spent at least $500 there but I just love the basics, so comfy + Tokyo has a large range of cool tees + 11 floors Uniqlo -gasp-


big bowl of sukiyaki pork on rice (btw this was a small) at a random vending machine shop 



Day trip to Odaiba, so much fun. I love looking at all the vintage stores here including the old school arcade 


And old school sweets 


Whats Japan without some robots



Gorgeous view on the train towards odaiba





Rounded off our last night in Nagoya where we indulged in bbq once again. Awesome being able to order the best cuts of meat and paying a fraction of what we expect to pay in Singapore. Who says food in Japan is expensive!



Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Tokyo Diary Pt 4 -July 2014


Woke up (not-so) bright and early for brunch at Tsukiji Market! If you love sashimi as much as I do, this place will probably be disneyland to you (as it was for me). 

Skipped the long queue at Sushi Dai and Daiwa, I have been to this market a couple of times and honestly, I think the rest of the stores are comparable in terms of quality and price.




And...my order! Skipped the carbs and went straight for the fresh sashimi - crab, salmon, tuna, scallop and of course my favourite the sea urchin. So good, so fresh and so cheap, the above prob cost about SGD40+, to think that price would probably get you about half that amount of uni alone  back in SG, and not even as fresh.
The chef and queue handler were too cute, offering to take pictures of us before eating. Talk about good service.




Walked off our huge breakfast by heading down to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and the Yushukan museum,dedicated to those who died fighting for Japan. The museum has been accused of revising the accounts of Japan's actions in world war 2 and wow, lets just say it was an extremely interesting and eyebrow-raising experience. Now I understand why no photography was allowed specifically in the WW1 and WW2 exhibits. 




Tendon Tenya tempura, a fastfood chain in Tokyo selling super cheap and good tempura. A meal cost ~SGD10 and features crispy delicious tempura. Now who says you can't get cheap food in Tokyo. This one was the branch at Harajuku



Another long walk down the crowded streets of Harajuku to take in the crazy sights and sounds of Tokyo. I can never get anything here (too out-there for me!) but I love the atmosphere. 



Of course, the only thing we bought was food. Freshly cooked chocolate callbee chips (super shiok!) 

and of course, the famous crepes. 



Dinner at a bbq restaurant near our hotel where I satisfied my craving for beef tongue. So hard to find good ones in Singapore! Yes, we did eat all day in Japan. 



Monday, December 8, 2014

Takayama/Tokyo Diary Pt 3 - July 2014


Saying goodbye to our lovely ryoken but not before another awesome breakfast.
Seriously, someone should open a brunch place in Singapore serving Japanese style "brunch"




Another long bus ride down the mountain and we decided to walk around the takayama old town before heading to Tokyo. 
Very quaint and beautiful place. Lots of old, well preserved shop houses though mostly selling touristy stuff. We did chance upon delicious matcha soft-serve and grilled mochi. 




The town is apparently known for its architectural methods; we wandered into the Takayama Museum of History and Art and spent a good 45 mins playing with the "architectural toys" there. 

There are many many restaurants dotting the old town and we just randomly picked one, needed to have one last hida beef meal before we headed off. Most of the restaurants here do serve hida beef (its a speciality after all!) so just keep a look out for the signs outside the restaurants. This was just a simple and cheap sliced beef bowl but oh, still sooo good. 

Back onto the bullet train and to my favourite city in the world- Tokyo! If you are planning to travel to various cities in Japan, do get the JR pass. We saved a ton for this trip with these passes; also gave us the flexibility to reserve tickets in advance and then changing the timing of our reservations (Based on availability of course) when we changed our travel plans. 


Obligatory train snack for the boy. The egg mayo sandwich from any convenience store, how do the Japanese make such delicious egg sandwiches, how is the bread still so soft and fluffy (despite being pre-packed for god knows how long). Why are the 7-11 sandwiches in Singapore so nasty? Sigh


We stayed in Best Western hotel, smack right in the middle of Shinjuku. Not the most romantic I know but what we really needed - bright lights and noise after 2 days in the mountain. Oh and uniqlo, lots of uniqlo. 

Supper stop at probably the most famous Ramen in the world. Needs no introduction - Ichiran!
Queue still darn long at 10pm but hey I am a true-blue Singaporean so queuing is of no issue (plus the boy was queuing while I went into the Pachinko outlet next door to attempt to understand the game, nope still dont get it)





Trying to understand the seating system, but still dont quite get it. Ok green = empty, red= occupied but what do the blinking lights mean? 


And then,  without knowing how your server looks like, a steaming bowl of perfection sits in front of you as you slurp down everything while facing basically nothing. So good. Rich thick flavourful soup with melt-in-your mouth char siew and noodles with just the right amount of bite. 




Chanced upon a series of tiny alleys behind our hotel, occupied by what must be at least 100 tiny little bars. Each bar could probably house maybe 6 customers? Each bar had its own unique selling pt too (e.g. rock n roll, retro etc), too cool and interesting. Tempted to go into one but it was not cheap (cover charge + cost of beer), seriously who pays cover charge to sit in a tiny little bar? 























Saturday, November 29, 2014

Takayama Diary Pt 2 - July 2014

Decided to explore the mountain on day 2 of our trip.




buses here are few and in-between, we ended up walking around, breathing in the fresh air. Even walked thru a tunnel! It  was a pretty cool experience though the cars driving past were deafening. 



A quick bus ride up the mountain and then we were at the Northern Alps, with a long ropeway (or cable car) that brings you all the way up. The ropeway was divided into 2 sections, with one being double-deckered - pretty awesome.
The view of course, was stunning. 



Rest stop in between where one can opt to go enjoy the hot spring or just dip your feet into a pond and relax

Even random lunch at the rest stop was good



Alas, it was a tad too misty that day so our view at the top looked like that. Still pretty cool though, being surrounded by so many mountains.

And back to our awesome dinner. This time we opted for Hida beef in Sukiyaki style and cooked in miso. 







The beef still as melt-in-your-mouth good as the day before. I could never get sick of this.

So my verdict of the ryokan experience?
It was great, just 2 days of being pampered with good food and resting in the peace and tranquility of the moutains and nature. Of course, 2 days were more than enough especially for city dwellers like myself who need the lights, sound and hi-speed internet.