Singapore Eats: Cozy Night at Oriole Coffee + Bar, Somerset

Whenever I pass by the al-fresco section of 313 Somerset (which happens to the link to Pan Pacific Service Suite), I always see Oriole Coffee + Bar packed with customers. One night, my friend and I decided to join the crowd and had our coffee and dinner there. 

Oriole is famous for its home-brew coffee. My friend ordered a glass of iced latte. 

I ordered the hot mocha. Hmm, the coffee art is a tad off that night. 

For the food, Oriole offers breakfast all-day, sandwiches and main dishes like fish & chips, etc. We tried two dishes from the sandwich selection. This is Reuben, which is described as home-made coffee-cured salt beef and sauerkreut served between grilled rye bread with melted swiss cheese and mustard mayo. 

The next one is Steak Sanger, which is described as thick slices of sirloin steak with wasabi pickled onions, mustard mayo and served between grilled multigrain bread. We quite enjoy our sandwiches. The meat in both sandwiches is tasty. 

For dessert, we shared the Chocolate Fudge cake. The dessert was so-so though. Next time, we should probably stick to the coffee and mains. 

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Singapore Eats: Shocking Hot Sauce Fried Chicken at Nene Chicken, The Star Vista

Tuesday night and we feel like eating something spicy. So we decided to try the Korean style of fried chicken in Star Vista, Nene Chicken. 

Nene Chicken is basically selling fried chicken served in different type of sauces. There are classic fried chicken (hot or mild), snow chicken, fried chicken with mixed onion and Asian sauce, black pepper chicken and shocking hot sauce chicken. We ordered the shocking hot sauce chicken and black pepper chicken. 

If you are ordering a set, it comes with fries. You can alternatively go for the rice too if you want. The set also comes with white radish which we did not touch at all after first bite. I guess next time, we should not take them in the first place at all.

The Shocking Hot Sauce chicken is very spicy up to the point it makes me teary. We ended up mixing the hot sauce with the black pepper sauce although a peppery hot sauce does not make it less spicy. Oh well, you are warned. Hahaha.

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Singapore Eats: Unlimited Rice Supply at Yayoiken, Bugis+

Yayoiken is a Japanese Teishoku restaurant. Teishoku refers to Japanese set meal which usually involves a bowl of steamy white rice. And if you are white rice lover, Yayoiken offers a free refill of rice. 

I ordered tonkatsu teishoku (pork loin katsu set). The tonkatsu is kinda over-fried for my liking so it became very dry. Such a shame. My friend's tonkatsu shared the same fate as mine. 

For dessert, we order matcha chocolate cake which is served with two sticks of chocolate pocky. Dessert was not bad. Matcha not too bitter for our liking. =)

Our first impression of Yayoiken is quite below par, so we have not really come back here again for the food because we can get nicer Japanese food at Ichiban Boshi. Oh well. 

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Taiwan Eats: Sun Cake from Jiufen

During our food hunting trip to Jiufen Old Street, my friend was suggesting to look for sakura mochi and sun cake (tai yang bing/ 太陽餅). Without doing any proper research to find these two items, we kinda randomly search for them based on two things, the price and the appearance of the items. Failed to find the mochi, at least we managed to get a box of tai yang bing. Although turned out this may not be from the so-called best brand of tai yang bing offered in Jiufen. Oh well. 

But the packaging looks fine to me, so yeah, why not. Hahaha. The auntie who sold this to us offered to mix the taste of tai yang bing. The original (green) and the cream one (orange). 

Huh, excuse me? Oh what is tai yang bing? Right, I haven't talked about it at all, have I? Tai yang bing or sun cake is a delicious pastry originated from Taichung in Taiwan. The pastry looks like a sun and it has flaky and crusty texture. The inside of tai yang bing is sweet. Basically, you will get a happy feeling after eating a tai yang bing. Some says you even feel like chasing the sun. #eh

Even though this tai yang bing does not come from the famous brand called Li Ji in Jiufen, I don't find it bad. Even, it's quite yummy up to the point it has become my breakfast and tea-time snack for the next few days. You can't keep the tai yang bing for too long because it has a pretty short expiration date. 

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Singapore Eats: NanXiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, Ten Mile Junction

I kinda grumble whenever my friend invited me to her house because she stays in Woodlands. Even though Singapore is small, Woodlands is so far from my place because I don't drive in Singapore. But she bribed me with Shanghai dim sum over at NanXiang and me, being easily swayed by food (and friendship, of course), decided to come over anyway. 

Since there were only the two of us, we just ordered three dishes from the menu. 

1. Fresh Pork Filling Steamed Bun (Xiao Long Bao)

NanXiang is famous for its Shanghainese delicacies and when you have the words "steamed bun" in your restaurant sign, of course you will be expected to serve a good dim sum. With this logic alone, we ordered the pork filling xiao long bao. I really love this dish. 

2. Sauteed Egg White with Crab Meat

My friend insisted on trying crab meat so we ordered this gooey-looking dish to share amongst us. This kinda give me the idea to order crab meat filling xiao long bao if I come back here. 

3. Golden Pumpkin Cake

Dessert is a must no matter if you visit either Western or Asian restaurants. For the dessert, we ordered golden pumpkin cake. There is a pumpkin paste filling inside the fried bun. Yummy when eaten while it's hot. 

To wash down the food, we also order traditional Chinese tea. The teapot that NanXiang uses to serve Chinese tea is kinda cool because it has cute burner below it to ensure that the tea is always served at the right degree.

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Singapore Travel: Crane Dance, Free Night Entertainment at Sentosa

If you are wondering why everything is so expensive in Singapore, fret no more. Free entertainments are also available for budgeted travellers in Singapore. And Crane Dance, is really an awesome show to watch without paying any dollar. It is advisable to come to Waterfront Station earlier than the show time to ensure that you have place to seat (free seating, fyi). The show starts at 9PM daily.

Crane Dance show tells us story about the magical love of two mechanical birds for each other. The show involves a lot of special lighting, water play and music. 

The love that the mechanical birds show for each other eventually turn them into real birds. 

Two happy birds fly towards each other. 

At the end of the show, the screens at the middle of the two mechanical birds show beautiful fireworks.

The fireworks then transform into a lovely waterplay while the two mechanical birds are making a descend. The show ends after 10 minutes. 

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Hong Kong Eats: The Hungry Women are Back at Dao Xiang, Causeway Bay

I still remember the first time I came to Dao Xiang at Causeway Bay. I ate so much until my pants feel tight. Of course, that does not mean I have tried all the dim sum dishes that Dao Xiang has on its menu. So, with that self-justified excuse alone, my friend and I decided to return to Dao Xiang with a purpose...to try out its other dishes as far as our tummy allows. #gluttonattack

1. Fried Squid

Let my friend order and she surely will order fried stuff. In her defense, fried stuff will not go wrong. I can't deny her perfectly flawed reasoning. When you can't fight your challenge, you should just join hands and enjoy the bounty together. As I said, perfectly flawed. XD

2. Char Siew (BBQ Pork) Pastry

A must order in every dim sum house in Hong Kong. Period.

3. Sweet and sour pork

Sweet and sour to balance our tastebud after so many dim sum we have eaten during our stay in Hong Kong this round.

4. Crystal clear shrimp dumpling (har gaw)

A classic example of how looks can be deceiving. The crystal clear shrimp dumpling taste quite yummy despite the unconvincing appearance.

5. Chicken feet

I don't eat chicken feet so the whole dish went to my friend's tummy. She seems to be enjoying it to the maximum. So I suppose it's good.

6. Jelly osmanthus cake

Last but not least, a not-so-sweet jelly osmanthus cake to end our palate with. I wonder if this dessert can be categorised as healthy dessert. It contains red bean and yet it does not taste too sweet. 

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Singapore Cafe: Weekday Lunch Date at Artisan Boulangerie Co, Asia Square

When my best friend was still working in Tanjong Pagar, Asia Square has become our meet up place because it is exactly located in between Raffles Place, where I am working, and Tanjong Pagar. But as usual, eating at the food court on a weekday lunch time has proven to be a challenge. So one lunch time, we decided to have our lunch at Artisan Boulangerie Co instead. 

We ordered one sandwich, one pie and one eclair. For the sandwich, we tried the corned beef sandwich. Artisan Boulangerie Co allows customer to choose different type of bread for the sandwich. Choices include the unique kind of bread such as challah and fruit and nut muesli bread.

For the pie, we chose a simple chicken pie. The chicken pie is served with side salad and mushroom. 

Since eclairs seem to be the main dessert item at Artisan Boulangerie Co, we decided to share one raspberry eclair among us. 

For the drink, I tried the Iced Mocha. The size of the glass is quite big. I got kinda too full after consuming all this food and the coffee. Coffee may be good for diet I suppose because it has the filling effect.

Overall, the food served at Artisan Boulangerie Co are not bad but not that fantastic either. I should probably try more items to find out more about the other dishes served here. Next time, I guess. 

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Taiwan Travel: The Greek Village at E-da Theme Park, Kaohsiung

After shouting our lungs out by riding some thrilling rides at outdoor section of E-da Theme Park, we were in the mood of...just walking around, doing nothing. So we decided to explore the section which lies directly beneath the monorail track, the Greek Village.

E-da Theme Park is basically designed in Greek style. At one glance, you may think that we have been transported to...Santorini? Hahaha. Okay, I've never been to Greece so I don't know how it looks like in real life but that the impression which I got when I see this kind of houses. =P

There is no additional admission charged to explored this Greek Village but some buildings are just decoration, just like this yellow house. You can't enter the house. Hahaha. 

You will see all the blue and white houses, totally look like Santorini, right? Hehe. Smaller and cheaper version of Santorini, it is. =P

On the way back to the entrance, we feel like we have reached Athens. LOL. I mean, just look at that building! Oh well, since I won't be able to visit Greece in near future, I suppose this will do. 

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Singapore Eats: Fried Rice Party at Central Hong Kong Cafe, Vivo City

Whenever we have no idea what to eat in Vivo City, we always end up at Central Hong Kong Cafe. Probably it's because it's easier to get a table here and just like Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Central also offers a lot of variety of food. From toasts to fried rice to noodles.

My friend and I had a craving for fried rice so we ordered fried rice for each of our tummy. Mine is the XO Sauce Fried Rice. 

While my friend ordered Silver Fish Egg Fried Rice. If you are more adventurous than us, you can order durian fried rice. Yes, durian! O_O

The XO sauce is tastier than the silver fish egg fried rice but at the same time, I feel that they use more oil to fry that XO fried rice. Overall, we quite enjoy the fried rice. Will definitely come back again to try other stuffs like the French Toast or Peanut Butter Toast next time. If you are too full after eating too much fried rice, you can walk it off by walking all the way to Sentosa via Sentosa Boardwalk. Just an idea. Hehe. 

Taiwan Eats: Hogan Bakery, Taipei City Hall

I first came across Hogan Bakery during my random evening walk to Taipei City Hall. It's located near to the underground pass to Taipei City Hall Station. The bakery chain was pretty much crowded with people so it kinda piqued my curiousity.

I tried the chocolate snow bun. It's basically a bun with white flourish powder on top. The bun has chocolate cream filling which is quite yummy for my taste. If you are a fan of bakery, you should try some of the breads from Hogan Bakery. 

It seems that Hogan Bakery has a few chains but I only spotted the chain at Taipei City Hall during my stay in Taipei. I wonder if this chain is the easiest chain to find. =P

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Taiwan Travel: All the Rides at E-da Theme Park, Kaohsiung

Similar to Lotte World in Seoul, E-da Theme Park has both indoor and outdoor attractions. If you are a thrill-seeker, you should make your way to the outdoor part of the theme park. For instance, you will be welcomed by this big swing. If you are wondering how high can this swing go...

...well let's just say it can go pretty high up to the sky. Swoosh!

Deeper into the theme park, there are more and more attractions which are suited to adrenaline junkie. Like this green roller coaster. 

If the green roller coaster does not satisfy you, there is a white roller coaster exactly at the opposite side. This one goes up at high speed and then making its way back down at higher speed. Crazy, I must say. 

My theme park buddy is, well, the opposite of adrenaline junkie. So she prefers this type of ride. You will be wet if there are naughty bystanders spraying you from the top. #warned

If you don't like thrilling rides and don't like to get wet, maybe this next ride is for you. But, you have to make sure you are not afraid of height. Haha. 

E-da Theme Park is the second theme park that I went to. The first theme park (although they call it a cultural park) is Formosa Cultural Aboriginal Park at Nantou. Comparing the two, if you like riding attractions like roller coaster, you should probably go to E-da Theme Park because there are more type of roller coaster here. But if you are a fan of One Piece, Formosa Cultural Aboriginal Park is basically designed for One Piece lover. So, probably it's best to visit both if you have the time. #bestconclusion

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