Sept 2013- Bangkok Eats

Finally a trip to Som Tum Nua, I always hesitated to go in due to the long queue ( no messing around with my shopping time in bangkok!) But the restaurant is pretty huge and we got a seat within minutes.

Chicken wings were great and as mentioned I prefer this over Greyhound's, a definite must-try! 

I loveeee fish and devoured this entirely. So crispy and fresh! 

I have never had mango salad before but one has to order the signature dish right? This version som tim comes with salted egg, strange but welcomed cos I love me some salted eggs. And wow, sensory overload, sweet spicy sour crunchy all at once and so fresh and tasty. (My face was literally like the emoticon with hearts in my eyes). Will never look at Mango salad the same way again. 

Must, must order! 

Mr Jone's orphanage! Such a lovely lovely place, straight out of a fairy tale. 

The cakes and coffee were average though I was very amused by the coffee art - hi smirky face!

Couldn't resist taking pictures of the extensive goods on display

Som Tum Nua 

392/14 Soi Siam Square, Rama 1 Road

Jones Orphanage

Seen Space, Thonglor 13

Greyhound Cafe, Siam Center

Greyhound Cafe in Bangkok is one of those well-loved by Singaporeans places (we actually visited all these places this trip just to find out what the fuss was about)

Greyhound is a stylish place - think Project Shop cafe at Paragon with the staff in funky slogan tees and/or suits. 

The famed Greyhound chicken wings - tiny wings marinated in fish sauce and fried to perfection, these tasted great! Very addictive but I prefer the wings from Som Tum.

Squid ink burger was pretty disappointing, nothing like the squid ink bun at tiong bahru bakery. In fact if not for the colour, it would have been just an ordinary bun.  

Corned beef spagetti - I am biased cos I loveee corned beef but this was a really good pasta dish. Al dente and very flavourful.

Siam Center 

3rd Floor

(This place is pretty popular so be prepared to wait during peak hours) 

Sept Bangkok Diary

So yes, we took yet another trip to Bangkok this year, I can never get tired of this city. Good food, shopping and entertainment - a pity about the unrest now though.

Must-eat coconut ice cream at CTC - I heard its made its way to Singapore, wonder if its any good

Kick-ass duck noodles at CTC, the broth is so intense and flavourful - i made the mistake of putting way too much chilli oil and drowned myself in water whilst eating this but still soo good

Eating way too much mango sticky rice.  My favourite is still the one at CTC from a small little push cart in the middle of the market though we did manage to try 2 supposedly famous versions this time round - the one from tango mango was disappointing, all style and no substance. The take-away from Mae Varee ( Thong Lo BTS) was pretty good, I liked the tri-colored rice though not too sure why its famous, I mean most of the mango sticky rice from roadside stalls tasted pretty similar too

Peaceful demonstration against the building of a dam, Thais are so politically active, even young kids were getting involved, painting signs and what not.

 The hotel breakfast- we stayed at Holiday Inn Express near National Stadium BTS and its a pretty damm awesome hotel. Extremely near the BTS and a 10 mins walk away from Siam station, room was small but clean and nice. And while the breakfast spread was small, everything tasted great. Will definitely stay here again, just for that great location.

Another food pitstop - pad thai and oyster omelette

Revisit: Chikuwa Tei

Still THE chirashi to beat in my opinion. The perfect thickness and the perfect amount of fish, only no uni this time round :( 

 Super generous serving of foie gras here at only $20. Perfectly cooked too!

   9 Mohamed Sultan Road

#01-01Singapore 238969

T: 6738 9395

Addictions Cafe

So after months of wedding venue searching, it ends here finally! (With less than 8 mths before the big day, talk about cutting it close).

We love this place because of the huge event space + tent age which mean that we get to have that outdoor wedding we always wanted without having to worry about wet weather plans. Bonus is the pretty water feature and the separate area for solemnisation. 

Cons - Pretty pricey overall and not great service. 

Venue aside we did come down for a meal before deciding whether we wanted the place. Fortunately, the food was good. 

Short ribs - tender and flavourful though of course can't be compared to the awesome one at Bistro Du Vin

Lamb burger with sweet potato crisps. I dont usually take lamb but this was good, none of that gamey smell. The meat was moist and savoury and I couldn't stop eating the crisps.

 Stick date pudding was so-so, too dense that it came out more like a cake

22 Dempsey Road

64765961

La Ristrettos

Now this is one hard to find place even though it is near Novena mrt. I wonder why one would think to locate a cafe in the midst of a building full of healthcare clinics but I guess it attracts the doctors?

Maybe because of its location, La Ristrettos overlooks a nice garden with a water feature. Very calming and peaceful for doctors and patients alike.

The cafe serves all-day breakfast, I had the Grande (scramble eggs, mushrooms, bacon, sausage and salad). I love how colourful the plate looks, especially that glistering cherry tomatoes. Pretty good plate of food at a reasonable price ($14).

Coffee was decent.

The only grouse I had about this place is the seating - communal style (aka large table right in the middle), making it quite tough to find seats. Nobody likes to sit with strangers esp when you are catching up with old friends

La Ristrettos
10 Sinaran Drive #08-37 Singapore 307506
Novena Medical Centre
Tel 63977165

Wasabi Tei

Wasabi Tei is one established place for good, affordable Japanese fare. It was my first time there (horrors) and I enjoyed this cozy little place.  There is a new outlet just 2 doors away from the old school one, but as all typical Singaporeans, we all queued to get into the old outlet.

The restaurant probably sits at most 16 with the chef right in the middle of the u-shape counter, so everyone gets to see exactly what the chef is putting into your food. As usual, went for the chirashi don (~$25) which was piled high with so much sashimi all of us had trouble finishing. 

I know people may not like the service here but I find the chef's caustic attitude quite endearing. That said, my opinion is probably biased because he gave us more leftover sword-fish halfway thru our meal (yay!)

His assistant did make up for any bad attitude, she was friendly and chirpy, making an effort to chit-chat with customers. Already looking forward to my next visit!

Wasabi-Tei 

(be prepared to queue)

14 Scotts Road

#05-70 Far East Plaza