Fifteen Minutes

"Dedicated to Food, Friends & Fame."



LaSalle College of the Arts,
Blk D #01-01, 1 McNally Street.


Yesterday, had my fav lotus root soup again!

Riders Cafe

Since we already had brunch here before, we decided to revisit this cosy place and try the lunch items instead. The must trys are the buffalo wings, carbonara pasta and Rider's House Burger. The fish & chips was disappointing though... very fishy and oily. Thankfully, the quaint surroundings and graceful horses made up for it.





Pet Horse anyone?


51 Fairways Drive
Bukit Timah Saddle Club
Tel: 6466 9819

Lai Wah Restaurant

This place brings back childhood memories cos we used to have many family celebrations here when it was located at Jln Besar. l miss using those retro metal-grilled lifts. l think its been almost a decade since we last came here, so we're glad my aunt decided to celebrate her birthday here today (albeit in a new location).

They serve home-styled cantonese fare and is famous for their 'Yoke Lan Chicken'. Did u know the 1st 'Yusheng'(raw fish) originated from this restaurant? Anyway, l think the original chefs must have retired by now, cos today's items were somewhat lacking in presentation and taste.



Their cold dish...another signature item


Happy Birthday 6th aunt!


Blk 44 Bendemeer Road
#01-1436


After lunch, we had coffee with our 1st cousins at Siglap and had a good time catching up on each others' lives. It was a nice gathering, esp since 2 of my cousins just came back from HK and UK.

At night, l watched Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. Kinda disappointed cos for 2.5 hrs, nothing eventful happened... except perhaps the death of Dumbledore in the last few minutes.


On Tue (21 Jul), we continued my aunt's birthday celebration cos its her actual birthday. We had din at Imperial Treasure Great World and had some of our fav cantonese dishes.

All of us share a common love since young... roast pork with crispy skin ('siew yoke')!

Pasta Brava

We celebrated Kel's birthday at this restaurant at 11, Craig Rd (Tanjong Pagar). We waited quite long for seats despite making reservations, but like the captain said... 'it would be well worth the wait'. The ingredients used for the starters, pasta items and main courses were very fresh and we felt like we were really in Italy!

Must trys are the calamari, portobello mushrooms and seafood dishes.

Toast by Marmalade

This place is literally 'blink and you'll miss'. Located outside the lift lobby near the taxi stand, this sandwich concept cafe was conceived by the people from Marmalade Group.

They serve breakfast all day on Suns and we managed to try their American breakfast, roast chicken wraps and sardine sandwiches. Everything tasted jz right and the price was reasonable too. The bacon strips, sardine and scrambled eggs were delicious!

How not to like? it's named after my blog.. :p



Toast
Ngee Ann City
#02-11
391 Orchard Road
Singapore 238872

After brunch, we finally caught 'Transformers 2' at Cine! Though its juz lotsa metals banging & CGI effects.. we still got high with this adrenaline-pumping ride. And we couldn't take our eyes off Megan.. whether her boobs are real or not.

The Battle @ Barracks

We had a Birthday Bash for our Buddy-Bro, Sev by waging a Battle at Barracks and surprising him with a limited edition BearBrick toy !

On Fri, our troop of 8 invaded this former army barracks named 'House' which houses (pun intended)... a Spa Esprit, a Barracks Cafe & a Camp Bar. Our quest... to find their forbidden treasure, meant for the truly worthy warriors.

Ours was a long drawn battle led by Prince Sev, seen here giving us marching orders ...



We began by launching an attack on the appetisers... We devoured the metre-long chicken sausage, Ahi Taki Tuna Salad, signature truffle fries, sweet potato nibblets effortlessly and oh.. we even found time for a deep sea threesome too.. getting high by dipping the grilled prawns, calamari and black mussels into the caramelised pineapple sauce!



After our brief rendenzous, we advanced deeper into their territories.. and met more enemies along the way..

Sgt Red Snapper was crafty & agile but was no match for our sharp cutlery-like weapons.



An american soldier named 'Sliders' threaten us with his beefy physique but could not fend off the charms of our lady troopers.



Next, we were ambushed by 2 Jamaican Jerks 'Pork Tenderloin'.. they tried to tempt us with their herbs and spices .. but we easily defeated them and chopped them to pieces.



Finally, we got to the Spiders' Lair, the place where they hid the treasure.



The Lair was heavily guarded by their finest Generals; Bay Prawn Capellini and Lobster Linguine... they put up a good fight and deployed their sturdy prawns soldiers and clawy lobsters...





The generals were indeed formidable and even managed to trap all of us in these giant bubble cups.



Luckily in the nick of time, Prince Sev summoned his secret weapon, the 'Bearbrick-Mickey'. Together, Sev & Mickey fought with gusto and trounced the 2 generals.



After a tiring war, we finally got to sink our teeth into their most guarded treasure ... the rich, elegant and creamy 'Strawberry Shortcake'!
Here're our victory pics!







Just as our battle ended, another war was waging between the Autobots & Decepticons elsewhere.. l'm sure most fans would have watched it by now.. and we're finally catching the BumbleBee this Sun!



Barracks Cafe @ House
8D Dempsey Rd
Singapore 249672
Tel: 6476 6050, 6475 7787

Palm Beach @ One Fullerton

My cousin just graduated from London's Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie Course and we had a family gathering at Palm Beach to celebrate her achievement. Yup, this was the same school that got our Environment Permanent Secretary in trouble for flaunting his wealth at the Paris campus.

Anyway, the starters was this gastronomical seafood platter which was as delicious as it looks..


The mini yam baskets simply melts in the mouth and it was topped with abalones.. the seafood sharks' fin soup was unique and tasted like tom yam.


The chilli crabs tasted way too sweet but the pepper ones were spot on!


The fried rice was delightful with a distinct dose of onion oil.. and the fruit platter was an artpiece by itself.. its nice catching up with family over great food!


1 Fullerton Road #01-08
Singapore 049213

Manpuku @ Tampines 1

It's been awhile since we went to the East, so my friends decided to visit the new Tampines 1 and have din at the Manpuku Japanese Gourmet Town. The place was still drawing in the crowds despite opening for quite some time.



We tried quite alot of items, so l've decided to group them into 2 broad categories.

The 'so-so' ones..

Maybe cos l've tried too many better ramen recently, the version from 'Aoba Hokkaido Ramen' was bland and was churned out like fast food. There was only l piece of thin pork and the hard boiled egg was like something you could get at home. The grilled eel and katsu don were quite average too.




The 'must haves'..



It was worth the long wait for the Osaka Botejyu okonomiyaki (named 'Moonlight Special') which tasted like the real deal from Japan. The Hokkyokusei Omu Rice was fragrant and the portion was generous.

Special mentions must be given to the fruit tarts from 'Fruit Paradise'. I remember passing by a similar shop in Japan and regretted not trying it then. So l'm glad they were brought to our shores instead. Available in various fruits combo... the mango & orange/grapefruit ones we tried were bursting with freshness and the cream wasn't too heavy too. It's kinda ex for $7.80 a slice, but l'm not really complaining.


Manpuku Japanese Gourmet Town
10 Tampines Central 1
#03-16 Tampines 1

Michelangelo's Restaurant

My colleague treated me to lunch at Michaelangelo's today. The slightly crisp Snapper was superb, with no fishy taste at all. The chicken fettuccine was average though.



Michelangelo's Restaurant
Blk 44 Jalan Merah Saga
#01-60 Chip Bee Gardens

Eli Scruggs

l was really touched by this episode of Desperade Housewives so l decided to summarise and share with my friends here...

Eli, the handyman first met Mary Alice whilst she was gardening and told her he was looking for odd jobs. She declined initially but when she saw some holes in his shoes, she immediately told him she had a vase which needed fixing.

A couple of years later, Eli walks into Mary Alice's house one afternoon and finds her sitting at the table obviously with something bothering her. He didnt know she was going to kill herself.

When he heard the tragic news, Eli sat in his truck for almost an hour, devastated that he had done nothing to save her. He then made a quiet vow to God: from that moment forward, he would do what he could to help people, to help them fix their lives. And for the rest of his life, that's exactly what he did.....

He told Gabby to cut the snobbish attitude when she was new in town and to learn to like her neighbours or she would end up being all alone. She ended up having them as close friends for life.

He cheered Edie up and reassured her she was still an attractive catch, when she was dumped by her lover.

He consoled Lynette when she accidentally left her baby girl in the car and told her its understandable as she got alot on her mind with three kids, a new baby and a new job. She realised work is not everything and learnt to treasure her kids.

He kept Bree's cookbook which she had thrown away years ago and gave it back to her after her husband died.... he offered hope when she was lost and years later, she became a top selling cookbook author making her extremely wealthy and popular.

He lent a shoulder to Susan during her failed relationships, telling her though he hasn't had much experience in love, she was heroic to him because no matter how much heartbreaks she suffered, she always continues to find true love and never gives up hope.

When Eli died, throngs of people attended his funeral because he has touched their lives one way or another.

l don't know why this fictitious character left such an indelible mark on me but l'm sure there are many such kind souls around us.... ln my life, l too hope l could bless the people around me and somehow make this journey more palatable.

Spruce @ Phoenix Park

It's great to have Sunday brunch in the outdoors, and one such place is Spruce. Nestled within the Phoenix Park, this cafe serves the usual breakfast fare while offering a laidback surrounding. The Spruce Big Brekkie and the banana pancakes with blueberry syrup were quite decent, but we still prefer Rider's version though.





320 Tanglin Road,
Phoenix Park

Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant

The lunchtime Bento sets at this place are definitely value for money! The chefs were authentic, the ambience was posh and the food simply exquisite. The sashimi were so fresh it could melt in your mouth.

No wonder Fann frequents this place... haha



22 Scotts Road
Goodwood Park Hotel


For din, we had Thai Express at Paragon. Luv the mango salad.



On Sat, watched 'Angels & Demons'. Quite a fast-paced movie with the necessary twists and turns. But could border on absurdity, like how on earth did a Parish Priest suddenly learn how to fly a helicopter!

M for Mietta's

l had a strange encounter with the letter 'M' this evening....

M for...
Mietta's
Mooooooo
Makansutra
Michelangelo's and
MammaMia !!!!!!

Thks to an invitation by thehungrycow, we managed to try some Italian fine dining at this cosy joint @ 126, Arab St. Its a dynamic collaboration between Chef Angelo Sanelli (Michelangelo’s) and group former Zambuca’s chief Chef Dennis Sim. The gathering consists of foodies from the makansutra forum and boy.. the older folks sure knows how to have a good time!

We also sampled fine wines courtesy of hungrycow for a token sum. Though l'm not a good drinker, l liked the wines cos they were smooth and not too acidic.

The Starters... top marks for the salad!

Baby arugula salad tossed with walnuts, pears & smoked turkey in blue cheese dressing


Safron & seafood broth with poached prawn dumpling


Italian Arborio rice simmered with trio of cheese & plum tomato puree


The Main courses...

Grilled ribeye with roast potato & black peppered forest mushroom jus


Pan fried Barramundi on white Asparagus puree & green pea ragout drizzled with caviar oil (it tasted slightly fishy but overall still ok)


And finally... the dessert..

Called 'Chocolate Delice'... the choc was very rich .. kinda tasted like 'Nutella'... haha



All in all, a wonderful evening serenaded by good food, nice people and wonderful ambience!

Mellben Seafood

l gave my foodies gang a treat at this famous place for Crab Bee Hoon (located at Blk 232, AMK Ave 3). Indeed, the soup was rich & flavourful and the crabs were fresh. The zi char dishes like cereal prawns and yam with scallops were good as well. Call it innovation or lameness, but they actually displayed crab shells autographed by celebrities!