Singapore Eats: A Poke Theory, Telok Ayer

I love venturing out of the way from the office to have lunch. If you ask me to lunch in, I will feel pretty damn depressed for the whole day because after all I don't really associate office as my 2nd home although that is the place where I spend the most of my day other than my own house. Thankfully, I have lunch buddies who think along the same line as me and one of them asked me out to try one of the latest addition in Telok Ayer area, a salad bowl restaurant named A Poke Theory. 

A Poke Theory adopts the concept of building your own salmon/ tuna chirashi bowl. Customers can choose from either lettuce, quinoa or sushi rice as the base and choose the so-called toppings along the way. Do note that certain toppings require customer to pay additional price. I was pretty hungry so I choose rice as the base and avocado miso salmon as the main. For the rest of the toppings, I just choose cherry tomatoes, edamame, cucumber, pineapple, carrots and with the premium topping, crispy salmon skin (additional 2 dollars). You can add the sauce at your own liking because the sauce bottles are put near the utensils and free water area. 

While it tastes good on the first few bites, I realise that it is kinda a struggle to finish a full bowl of chirashi because in the first place, I probably not really a devoted fan of chirashi. It is fine to eat this once in a while but I will not go for this type of food on daily basis. As the poke bowl costs me S$12.50, I think it's a wise idea not to eat this very often. #cheapo

A Poke Theory's location:

27 Boon Tat Street

Opening hours: 

Weekdays 11AM - 6PM

Saturdays 10AM - 4PM

Singapore Eats: Standing Sushi Bar, Marina Bay Link Mall

It has been very tiring for the last few days at work. I could not get my to-do-list done in time because there is basically so many things to do. Oh well, let's hope tomorrow will not be that bad and after all, it's Friday. I nearly missed my lunch due to some Excel malfunction but thankfully, managed to meet my lunch buddy around 12+. This timing means a nightmare to find a place to sit around Marina Bay Link Mall in Singapore. 

Standing Sushi Bar is probably the only restaurant which does not have queue in Marina Bay Link Mall. The price tag that the restaurant put for their food is after all, quite premium and can create a hole in your wallet. For instance, the cheapest food you can get here cost SGD 18. So yes, my grilled chicken teriyaki set is SGD 18. My lunch buddy's chicken karage set costs SGD 19. 

On the brighter side, the grilled chicken teriyaki taste good and it is served with brown rice. The lunch set comes with side salad, miso soup, seaweed + bits of edamame, and green tea mochi. Noona was very hungry so she finished the whole thing. Taste wise - really not bad. 

If only they make the price a bit cheaper. But looking at the rate Marina Bay Link Mall charges its tenant for monthly rental, it seems unlikely for the price to go down. Life's hard. 

Standing Sushi Bar is located at: 

Marina Bay Link Mall #B2-51

Opening hours:

Monday - Friday: 11.30AM - 9PM

Saturday: 11.30AM - 4PM

Closed on Sunday

Turkey Travel: Ankara Park and Radisson Blu Hotel

If you happen to stay over at Ankara and you have free time to spare, you may want to check out a public park in Ankara (not sure how safe it is at the world today since I went to Ankara back in 2013 when everything is still peaceful in Turkey). Our tour group stayed the night in Radisson Blue Hotel in Ankara and while the bus was making its way to the hotel, I saw this beautiful view from the window's bus.

 

 

We had to wait for a while to deal with the check-in and stuff but once we received our room keys, my brother and I were ready for adventure. I don't think it is wise to go out from the hotel just two of us in the current situation so if you'd like to walk around your hotel, I suggest to do this in group. Better be wise than sorry I suppose.

 

 

Ankara public park is situated right opposite Radisson Hotel (because we can see the park from the balcony of our hotel room). 

 

 

This is the view that we saw from the balcony. The park is huge and it has a big pond and some kind of mini theme park inside. The fountain never stops sprouting water. Kinda miss the peaceful days of Turkey, really.

 

 

When we arrived, it seems that there were some preparations being made for the show later on tonight. Not sure what it was gonna be but we assumed it got something to do with lights show.

 

 

Since the weather is so hot, we decided to buy an ice cream to share (dinner coming soon). As usual, the Turkish ice cream seller always loves to play tricks on his customers (especially tourists). My brother seems to be enjoying it though. The ice cream tastes oh so good with the three flavours: vanilla, custard and chocolate.

 

 

When the night arrived, we could see sound coming out from the pond's direction and we guessed correctly, there was light show happening in the park. We enjoyed the show from our hotel's balcony. Nice one. 

 

 

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Radisson Blu in Ankara so if you'd like to stay in Ankara, you may want to consider this hotel as one of the options.

Singapore Eats: Curious Palette, Dhoby Ghaut

I can't believe it is already Sunday night now. Weekend comes and goes so quickly. I did not really like the fact that I have to work again tomorrow but at least I am grateful that my weekend seems to be quite productive. That if your weekend goal is (a) trying out new cafe and (b) dating bae. Initially I was planning to cut down my expense since I just got myself an iPad (which is awesome by the way!) but at the same time I feel like trying new cafe too and the temptation of the latter wins. Hence, here we are at Curious Palette, one of the eating place located along Prinsep Street right opposite POMO.

Quick glance on the menu if you are interested. Based on Burpple (a popular foodie app used by many in Singapore), Curious Palette's most popular items are the Hotcakes. I am not really a fan of Hotcakes (due to their huge size) but it feels not right not to order the most popular item especially on the first visit. 

But at the same time, I feel like munching on something salty and these spam fries look so glorious. I used to eat spam and rice as a child and I remember I enjoyed it so much back then. Needless to say, bae and I finished the whole plate even before our Berry Ricotta Hotcake arrived. #spamlover

It took Curious Palette a while (definitely more that the waiter-claimed-to-be-25-minutes) to serve the hotcakes to our table. At least, Berry Ricotta Hotcakes looks super pretty on the outlook. Taste wise, the hotcakes seem to be on the drier side. We started to wonder if we should ask for another portion of maple syrup but we tried not to cause we scared it will become too sweet. Bae prefer the hotcakes served at Atlas Coffeehouse though. I should probably try the mains next time but Curious Palette only serves dinner after 6.30PM so I better make sure I reach the cafe not before 6.30 or otherwise, I will end up munching spam fries again. LOL.

Curious Palette's address:

64 Prinsep Street, Singapore

Opening Hours:

Mon - Thurs, Sun: 9AM - 10PM

Fri and Sat: 9AM - 12AM

Close on Tuesday

Singapore Eats: On The Table, Pasir Panjang

Oh gosh I can't believe dealing with incessant questions, I am practically drained. To add it off, I still did not manage to get my Mac fixed without resorting to erasing the data. It has been three days without my laptop and I can totally feel the void in my life.

And that's when I resorted to other comfortable things in life like food. That was the first time we came all the way to Pasir Panjang to go for food. But that's where On the Table is located so yea, we decided to be a bit adventurous. 

On the Table is a cafe which I found randomly on Burpple and it's situated within 5 minutes of walking from Pasir Panjang MRT. Despite being a cafe, it has a superb collection of bottled beers

The name of the bottled beer is rather interesting to check. Try to get a table near the beer shelves and you can spend time checking them out while waiting for your order to arrive.

There was a plate of chicken wings on the occupied tables and based on this, we deduced that chicken wings are a must-order food in this cafe.

We ordered a pasta and a burger to share in addition to the chicken wings. Do note that On the Table only starts serving dinner at 6pm. We chose salmon and mushroom truffle linguini (which oh my gawd taste superb for creamy pasta lover like me).

The burger taste pretty normal up to the point I forgot the name of the burger. I am pretty sure it was a beef burger thou. 

On the Table's address:

118 Pasir Panjang Road

On the Table closes o

Ranting and reminiscing on hot summer day in Yehliu, Taiwan

I have only 5 watts of power remaining in my eyes and yet I feel like writing some stuff. It is now day 2 of mourning period since the day my Macbook Pro has crashed. I seriously felt significant void in my life, apparently my relationship was such a committed one. 

To make matters worse, I am not really an outgoing person (and hence in a committed relationship with my Mac) especially when the weather in Singapore is crazy hot. I think it's comparable to the heat of summer which I experienced in Yehliu last summer. Beautiful scenery and yet, hot.

I am due for appointment tomorrow with the techie but I forgot to bring the one and only laptop case that I have from the office. Shit. 

My 7 years old Macbook Pro is still the heavyweight version and I really wonder if I should find a new beau, in rose gold color.

I shall meditate on this tonite. Especially since blogging has become quite tough from the small phone. Ok maybe not so small but it ain't tablet or laptop. Hehe. 

Singapore Eats: Watanabe Coffee, Orchard

Hello. I'm still alive without my Mac. Somehow. After three hours figuring out how to resurrect my Mac through all possible ways which I manage to google, the screen still shows white color, as white as a whitewalker. Cold.

Annoyed with the whole situation, I decided to just book a slot with the repair centre but tomorrow's slot is fully booked. In despair, I crawled out from my room and decided to go out with bff to grab a cuppa of coffee instead. 

Japanese cafe seems to pop up one after another in Singapore and bff and I often see a beeline in front of Watanabe Coffee in Orchard. We decided to give the place a try, especially when there was only two persons in front of us. Sweet!

The cafe is quite cozy to chill out especially when it's above 30 degrees out there. A lot solo cafehoppers spotted inside. Seems to be a cool cafe to do some people watching too.

Whenever I am not sure what to order, chances are I ended up ordering iced green tea latte. At a whopping price of 8 SGD, I kinda expect the drink to have a wow factor. But, nope, didn't feel anything out of ordinary from the green tea latte

Bff's order of cafe mocha taste as bland as ever to my tastebud but bff seems to be able to drink it just fine as she's not really a sweettooth. She did say the taste is normal though. We must have been paying for the rental.

I suppose that's the price you need to pay to enjoy chillin out in a cafe in Singapore. 

Watanabe Coffee's location:

Level 1, Isetan Scotts
Orchard

Opening hours:

8.30AM - 10PM
 (Friday and Saturday to 11PM)

Singapore Eats: Pizza, Fries and Chicken Wings at Timbre+

My beloved Mac just decided to crash on me. Such a cruel act. But since it's an aging Mac I suppose it's just bound to happen. Sigh. With that, now I'm trying to blog by using my S7 edge. I wonder how long I will take to make this one post.

Right, where was I? Oh yeah, Timbre+. It is basically a new eating place which adopts the concept of famous markets like for instance, Queen Victoria's Market in Melbourne. Stall and food truck owners have joined forces to make this vibrant eatery goes alive. For a start, you can get any type of bottled beer here.

Once you have decided on the beer, it's time to check out the food offerred at Timbre+. We tried the pizza and fries from the food truck named "The World is Flat". The food truck puts a fancy twist to otherwise a boring pizza. The Fat Samurai pizza tastes pretty good even though it looks pretty messy on a plate. 

Even though the pizza is nice enough, I enjoy the World is Flat's rendition of sweet potato fries. The fries are mixed with sweet toppings like marshmallow and cream sauce and yet, the whole thing taste good together. And I am not even a fan of marshmallow.

If you come around 7+-ish in the evening, you may be able to catch live music performance although you need to sit pretty close to the stage to listem to band clearly. 

If you are still hungry and feel like nibbling something, there is something that you may want to try, the salted egg chicken wings. While they look pretty dull in my pic I dunno why, taste-wise, they are quite okay. Nothing fantastic but so so I suppose.

It can be pretty hot and humid dining in Timbre+, you may want to dress pretty light if you plan to come here. 

Timbre+'s location:

73A Ayer Rajah Crescent

Nearest MRT: One North (Circle Line)

Timbre+'s opening hours:

Mon - Sat 6AM - 12AM

Close on Sunday

Turkey Travel: Underground Cave Restaurant at Cappadocia

Okay, I just basically spent around 15 minutes to frantically looking at what happened to Picasa. Apparently Picasa and Web Picasa have been discontinued but no fret, Google does not totally abandon the ex-Picasa user. In facts, the features are usually done by Web Picasa last time has now been replaced by Google Photos. Looks wise, they are pretty similar. Well all works well as long as I can get back my pictures.

The funny thing is this makes me realise that I still have un-posted Turkey travel related blog posts. This blog has totally gone totally unorganised like its owner. LOL. Ok please don't mind me and let's all teleport together to a restaurant in Cappadocia which is situated at Hanem Art Center. 

In order to enter the restaurant, you have to go down. Literally underground. 

Welcome to Turkey's underground cave restaurant. This kind of restaurant setting is pretty common especially in Cappadocia area. Since the restaurant is usually pretty big, it can cater to a number of tour groups. And us is one of those tour groups that day.

Even though the restaurant is situated in an underground cave, the lightings are actually pretty good. It is quite cool in the summer too.

As usual, no meal is not started by Turkish bread which I don't think I can eat anymore at this juncture of the trip.

The salad, however, looks somewhat different this time. It's like a mixture of paste and yoghurt and greens and tomato thingy. Hahaha. I don't know how to explain but the taste is pretty much an acquired one.

Oh, normal mushroom cream soup. Yum.

Grilled fish. I wonder what kind of fish is this. 

As usual, Indonesians always bring chili sauce everywhere and well, I don't mind it though. The grilled fish tastes better with chili sauce. Hahaha.

13D12N Australia Trip: The Art of the Brick DC Comics, Powerhouse Museum (Part 2)

It's finally Friday!! Oh my gawd, I feel that I have been waiting forever for today to come. The cinema world is currently talking about Suicide Squad which seems good from the trailer but I have a slight scepticism on the storyline so I should probably wait for at least another week so that other people can watch first and share their review on the movie. Meanwhile, why don't we focus on the superheroes of the DC world instead. 

I am really really grateful that the Art of the Brick DC Comic exhibition allows its visitors to take picture of the exhibits. I mean the exhibits are really awesome it would be a waste not to keep memories of them. Not everyone can make Aquaman from Lego bricks, right?

Green Lantern being totally green. 

Another rendition of Superman, this time in blue. I really wonder how Nathan makes Superman's cape so perfectly by using lego bricks. Like, wow!

Not very sure on this character (a proof that my knowledge on DC universe turns out to be pretty limited), but I think he's Cyborg? He looks pretty much cyborg-ish to me. Wait, does that word even exist? Hahaha.

Oh, but I definitely know this one. In fact, I have a primary school mate named after him. Yes, I have a friend named Flash. He's still the one and only one amongst my friend list who has this name. 

It is a sin punishable in even Gotham itself if you don't know the next character. XD

Does this post trigger your inner creativity to create something cool with lego bricks?

Jakarta Eats: The Fctry Bistro and Bar, Lippo Mall Puri

"When life gives you shit, it times to eat something sweet." ~ me

The thing is life often gives me shit I really can't stand it. However, apparently I am not the only one who feel that way. A lot of my good friends feel that way too and I suppose that's why everytime we meet up, something sweet is always involved. Tonight's venue for the sweet stuff is The Fctry Bistro and Bar, a restaurant situated at Lippo Mal Puri, the latest shopping mall around my neighbourhood in my hometown, Jakarta.

This was not the first time my friend went to Fctry so I let her choose those proven-to-be-good sweet dishes and surprisingly she chose one cream-filled doughnut and..,

...lava cake, complete with the vanilla ice cream as side dish. I am usually not a doughnut person but Fctry's doughnut rendition is not bad although it can be quite sweet for some people with lower level of sweet-tooth. 

The lava cake is so so. Oh well, we did not really mind them because after all, we have not met up for a while and it's always good to have something to chat about for hours. 

The Fctry Bistro and Bar's address:

Lippo Mall Puri, Blok G-98

Jalan Puri Indah Raya

Kembangan, Jakarta

Trading hours:

Everyday 9AM - 11PM