Bakerzin @ Tampines One

  Meet-up with a friend who came back to Singapore for just two days from Beijing.  We decided to have our dinner at Bakerzin which is located within Tampines One.  We chose the open-concept dining area as the other area inside the restaurant was almost occupied and the tables were quite close together.  We prefer to have more "space".  However, I felt awkward as we were seated next to the escalator and I didn't like to face the people who were coming down from the escalator.  As such, I swapped seat with my friend who sat opposite me.  :P

The menu for the mains was rather limited but enough for us to make different choices.  I ordered the Linguini Vongole ($16.90) which came with generous servings of the clams.  It was quite satisfying but I would prefer it to be more spicy to get a bit more kick!

The friend who came back from Beijing, had high-tea at Max Brenner Chocolate bar before meeting us, so she couldn't quite finish the Cabonara that she had ordered.  ($15.50)

The other friend ordered Aglio Olio ($10.90).  She topped up her dish with Prawns at an additional cost of $5 and also Mushroom, Ham & Bacon at $5.00 too.  She was very satisfied with what she had ordered.  The prawns were big and fresh.

All the left-over shells from my clams!

Mango Freeze ($5.90)

Lychee Soda ($6.30)

Coupé Cheesecake Verrine ($12.50).  My friend shared this with me as it was too much to consume 3 scoops of cheesecake on my own!  The cheese flavour was very strong and I felt that it would be just right if it could be served in a single scoop for 1 pax.  Both of us couldn't finish up this dessert.

Coupé Black Forest Verrine  ($12.50)

Bailey’s Irish Cream Soufflé ($11.50)

All prices stated above are before GST and Service Charge.  Ice water was chargeable at $0.30 per glass.

Bakerzin

#01-39/40 Tampines 1

10 Tampines Central 1, Singapore 529536

Azur @ Crowne Plaza Hotel

A birthday celebration for a colleague over lunch buffet at Azur, located at level 2 of Crowne Plaza Hotel which is linked to Changi Airport Terminal 3.  Somehow, most of the food didn't really interest me and I didn't really eat much for this buffet, only took four plates of food.

Oysters were fresh.

Took another fried glutinous red bean ball.

The brunch starts from 12.30pm and each pax for the buffet cost $45++ during weekends.

Beach Culture @ Watercross, Pasir Ris Park Carpark E

 A little farewell treat for a colleague at Beach Culture at Pasir Ris Park.

Ambience here was good and there are both indoor (air-conditioned) and outdoor seating.  We decided to choose the outdoor area for dining, facing the beach.

I ordered the lychee soda.  They will not provide ice-water but the funny thing is, when I asked for warm water, they were okay.  My friend then jokingly said that since they served warm water, just gave us some ice and we will put the ice into our warm water ourselves.  In the end, they did give us a can full of ice and didn't charge us.  ??? *Puzzled*

 Nacho with cheese and bolognese was nice and addictive.

 Since there were 4 of us, we ordered 2 sets of the grilled meat platter.  The lamb was very salty and we feedback to the staff when she came over to our table to ask us how was the food.  I didn't eat the chicken as I was quite full after eating the lamb, steak and sausage.  Thus, my friend who was sharing the platter with me could take my share.  However, she said the chicken was not really nice too.

 This was supposed to be mango sago pudding  The photo in the menu showed the top of the pudding covered with a thick layer of sago but I didn't find it here.  Thus, I asked the staff about the sago and also,we suspected the few sago that we "found" in this dessert was not cooked properly.  She then took it back to the kitchen to check with the chef but came back telling us that this dessert had all been prepared already and asked us whether we wanted to change to another dessert instead.  Thus, I changed to buttermilk waffle with ice-cream. 

I found the waffles too soggy this time round.  My friends also ordered a brownie with ice-cream for sharing.

Although the food here was just average, but I liked this type of restaurant with a nice outdoor ambience.  The staff were also friendly.  Will be here probably with my hubby next time!  Maybe to try out their chocolate fondue!  :)

Sabio by the Sea @ Quayside Isle

Celebrated hubby's birthday at a Spanish Restaruant - Sabio by the Sea at Quayside Isle this year.

A flat gantry admission charge is applicable to each car entering Sentosa.  We paid $7 as we went on a weekend.  Parking lots are available at Quayside Isle at $3.50 per entry.

 Exterior of the restaurant.

 Look at the nice patterns at the backdrop!  The staff told us proudly that they actually nailed the pattern one by one on their own!  Even the tables in the restaurant, the design on the top of the tables were also made by their staff.

We chose the seats next to these wall-mounted ornaments of the heads of horses and one zebra.

 By the way, the staff here were wearing black and white stripes tees.  You might want to avoid wearing stripes when coming to this restaurant.

 

  We asked for the staff's recommendation on what to order since it was our first time to this restaurant.

Sabio's Sangria

Their signature drink - Sangria.  It is an assortment of fruit stewed in a claret base mixed with soda water and sugar.  I preferred Sangria (Red) which had a refreshing, sweet fruity taste while hubby had Sangria (White).  $10/ glass.

Sea Scallops with Sparkling White Wine Sauce ($16)

 El Cerdo - Herb Marinated Pig Shoulder served with Sauted Potato ($21)

 Paella de Pescado (Shrimps, Sea Bass, Squids, Mussels, Clams)  (For 2 pax - $25)

Both of us were very satisfied with all the dishes that we had ordered.  I would like to come back soon to try out other dishes and also to try out the other restaurants such as Museo at Quayside Isle.

Sabio by the Sea
31 Ocean Way
#01-02 Quayside Isle
Tel: 66907568

Taste of Taiwan @ Parkway Parade (1 - 14 Jul 2013)

I was very privileged to be invited to Parkway Parade for a food tasting session at the current "Taste of Taiwan" Fair today. Taiwan is one of my favourite countries to visit for holiday because normally, our itinerary revolves around food and in Taiwan, you can find good food EVERYWHERE, especially street food.  Last year end, my hubby and I really had a very good year-end holiday in Taiwan, conquering lots of yummy street food and their various cuisine throughout our 15-day trip.  You may want to read up my travelogue HERE if you are also planning a trip to Taiwan. 

The event had already commenced on 1 July and will be on-going till next weekend.  I decided to post a photolog first so that hopefully if you happen to drop by my blog now, you may want to consider going to the fair tmr (Sunday) as the programme schedule for weekends is quite interesting.

 Do take note of the programme schedule.  One of the highlights is cooking demonstration by the very friendly and humorous Taiwan Masterchef Ho Tien Tsai.  No idea who this chef is?  Watch this random short clip of him here (Disclaimer:  I am not helping Chan Brother to promote their tour):

Do catch him in action at the food fair during the weekend at 3.15pm and get a few cooking tips from him!

I also saw some photos of the puppet show on my Instagram feed and the reviews were very good.  Do check them out as well!  Ooohhh!  Next weekend, there is also Kite-Making Session, think it will be great fun for a family bonding session too!

What are some of the savoury food that we can expect from this Taiwan Food Fair?

Let me walk you through....... First, we have the all-time popular street food - Taiwan Sausage!   

Other than the normal Taiwan sausage, they do sell other varieties such as bacon-wrapped sausage, spicy (mala) sausage, vienna pork sausage etc.

Next, we also tried the Braised Pork Rice ( 滷肉飯/ Lurou Fan ) from this stall.  I know, the photos here don't really look inviting and thus, we just asked for a small portion to sample.  However, to our pleasant surprise, the minced meat with mushroom sauce was full of flavour and balanced well with the moist rice.  This dish actually whet up my appetite to try out more food!

This is only our sample portion.  Trust me, this dish tastes better than it looks.

This kiosk sells "Kong Ba Bao", Taiwan Glutinous Rice and Chee Cheong Fun.

My friend and I both felt that their Chee Cheong Fun was quite nice, firm and chewy.

You can see each layer of the rice flour skin wrapped nicely over one another and of course, the sesame sprinkled on top adds some oomph factor to the dish.

Steamed Buns and Xiao Long Bao

 Before steaming..... the Xiao Long Bao actually looked like this!

We sampled one normal mini meat bun and one Xiao Long Bao.  

Taiwan Smoked Duck Roll

Taiwan Popiah

We tried the popiah and realized they also put in cripsy crackers into the popiah apart from the other commonly used ingredients, making it more crunchy.

I would like to give special mention to this kiosk that is selling Taiwan Seaweed.  At first, I didn't really bother to check out the seaweed here, because I thought it was just 2 lumps of green, unappealing stuff here, what's so special?

However, when the staff came and started to do some cooking demonstration, I made my way there and listened to her, realizing how easy it was to whip up delicious dishes with the seaweed.  I was more convinced after I tasted the sampling portion of course!  The seaweed omelette was really delicious!

Simple condiments/ ingredients to be used together with the seaweed to whip up scrumptious dishes.

Mee Sua

Taiwan Snacks

Master Mi - Rice Crackers Snack originated from Taiwan.

My friend, who was with me for the food tasting session, liked this so much that she bought 6 packets of the prawn rice crackers. (3 packets cost $15).

No oil used to make these rice crackers so I believe they are healthier form of snacks?

This is the machine used to make the rice crackers, very interesting.  The rice-cracker will pop out from the machine loudly.  Watch the short video clip and you will understand what it means...

Taiwan's famous 太陽餅 Sun Cake

Taiwan Home-Made Mochi

Taiwan Pineapple Cake

Black Sesame Paste... The packaging is quite convenient and also very cute.

Health Beverages

Taiwan vinegar is good for health.  

Whenever we go Taiwan, these are some of the "must-buy" items in our shopping list.

Chinese Tea

Some Taiwan fruits are being sold here as well.

Cannot get enough of Taiwan even after going to this fair?

Now, you can stand a chance to win a 4D3N trip to Taipei with a minimum spend of $30* (maximum 2 same day receipts) at any of the participating F&B outlets at Parkway Parade.  Receipts from Basement Atrium Food Fair will receive double chances!  

Register at their Customer Service Centre at Level 1.

Good Luck!!!

Taste of Taiwan

Date:  1 to 14 Jul 2013

Venue:  Parkway Parade Basement Atrium

*  Thanks Tsz In from Lend Lease for this invitation.