The Bikini Bottom - Changi Airport [Itacho Sushi Food Review]

I think Santa do exist afterall based on the fact that it probably landed itself at Changi Airport and crafted out a Spongebob heaven for me!

Despite the sudden down pour on Saturday, I was super determined to get myself at Changi Airport so that I can quickly redeem my plushie! I'm going to be really selfish here because I dont want my plushies to be fully redeemed! So if you are interested, hop on to Changi Airport Website and find out more!

But of course, in order to redeem my plushie, I had to spend some moolahs.. so Hong & I went to..

ITACHO SUSHI!!!

was extremely fortunate that there weren't much people queueing and also because there were only 2 of us, the sushi bar was our favourite sport. Served before the tables (if you know what I'm saying).

I LOVE THIS TO THE MOON AND BACK. The cold cold soba and the sweet dried scallops. Were just a match made in heaven. Love this. Should have ordered a second serving.

At least it wasn't crabstick meat I told Hong. It is always a disappointment to one when they say Crab on the menu and end up serving crab meat (flour). Thankfully Itacho is honest in its menu!

Gyoza with green tea powder!

The famous 40cents salmon (not a fan of it due to its fatty parts) and my 2nd favourite - SMOKED DUCK!

Spicy Seafood in this beancurd thing and some Cheese Shrimp from the Ala carte Menu.

Our Sashimi for the night - Salmon & Scallops. A little disappointing that the scallops weren't as sweet as it was suppose to be...

Some spicy pork rice that tasted magnificent too!

Some Seafood Salad Sushi which I skipped because there was squid in it. How dumb of me to order this.

I really have to compliment that the tempura ebi in my handrolls were crazily succulent and sweet. It was so so so delicious. The ingredients are indeed fresh especially when the seaweed were super crispy! Not like those "nua nua" (mushy) kind.

His big fat eel (full of edible bones, not appreciated)

It has been awhile since the two of us dressed up and went out for a proper date. (:

Heehee. Hiao Po Pose!

My #OOTD with my new bag! Heeheehee

While queueing for the snowballs to drop. Such a disappointment that we both only got stickers. SIGH

Hee. that's my Gary in my arms!

 Finally had a glimpse of how it looks like within

 Ending with my Favouritest Photo of the day! (: Perfect Lighting! Teehee! (:

Still fumbling about what to buy for Christmas? 

LOOK NO FURTHER. CLICK ME

xoxo

Andrea

FIVE & DIME - Brunch

Alighting at Cityhall MRT Station, both of us went up on the bus (195) and 5 stops later,

Juvena and I reached our destination.

FIVE & DIME

297 River Valley Road.

Singapore 238338.

For reservations, call 9236 5002

MENU

FISH & CHIPS ($20)

LOVE LOVE LOVE the hand cut fries as well as the texture and batter of the fish & chips! The best part was, the dip that came along were fantabulous (super shiok)! The Mayonnaise that came along had herbs and onions in them that made it super duper tasty (that's just what I tasted, there could be more) where one dip is never enough. Wished they had given more of that!

WAFFLES ($15)

On the other side of the table were our waffles to share. Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberry Ice Cream, Caramelised BANANA and Strawberry drizzled with Maple Syrup! My verdict? Love the consistency of the ice cream, not sure if it is "home made", but would have hoped that the waffles were much "hotter" and of course have the maple syrup served aside instead of soaking my waffles. Let the customer decide how much they would like to soak the waffles can. Who like soggy waffles? (though I love soggy pancakes).

Five & Dime Signature Chocolate

Initially, I was telling Juvena all I wanted were desserts and a hot cuppa chocolate cause the weather has been pretty chill. All I wanted was some hot piping food in my hands. And this was just right. Love the richness of the chocolate, and how at the bottom, there were thick remains of the chocolate for me to scoop out and taste. Super shiok! For all chocolate fans, TRY THIS. 

And that's Juvena on the other end. HAHAHA. 

Was complaining to Juvena and almost everyone possible about how thin and ugly my eye brows looked the other day. Really terrible. Buey Ta Han (cannot take it). But Life still goes on.

And we rolled to the back of the area to take #OOTD picture

Have fun laughing at me.

Exposing the elephants in me, On me is everything from Bangkok except the Leather Jacket from TheClosetLover, Clutch from Charles & Keith and my flippers from StudioTangs. 

Ok SEE YA! 

Still deciding what to buy for christmas?

 BUY THE TROVE I ANGELICALLY PUT TOGETHER HERE

 :) 

 

xoxo

Andrea

BEST Handmade Noodle (Ban Mian) + Carrot Cake on earth! [Food Review]

BEST Handmade Noodle (Ban Mian)
A day before my birthday, I psycho-ed my buddies at work to take a trip down to Whampoa Market for lunch and I'm pretty sure, it was one of the best choices made! I have been craving for the Hand Made noodles (Ban Mian/ U-mian/ Mee Hoon Kueh), specifically the dry version for a really long time, and I was super duper happy to be eating it! Hee. 

Here's the store! 

China Whampoa Home Made Noodle
Whampoa Market, Whampoa Drive
Blk 91 #01-24
7am to 2pm
Closed Mon
96256692
 

Do not underestimate that small little bowl of soup. It is so sweet it will blow your minds off. Nope, no sugar or extra MSG in it, just pure ikan bilis and yellow bean boiled with this very special green veg (I'm not sure what's its called, but it is like a hybreed of potato leaf) with a drizzle of the leftover oil from the fried shallots. (Best thing ever!)

Now going into details about the noodles. They are definitely handmade. The texture is perfect to the max. It has a good "q" feeling to it, springy and easy to chew. Not flour-ish like most places. It doesn't clump together too!

Available both in dry and soup version, it comes in a reasonable serving for a $4 meal. 3 fat & succulent prawns, chunks of well-marinated minced pork, boiled mushroom, Fried Ikan bilis, that potato leaves and fried onion. Tossed in dark sauce and two different type of Chilli. 

Just a huge warning, the chilli can be extremely spicy, so if you're not a fan of chilli, always remember to request for less of it! Because it can get you perspiring! Yet, the entire dish is so shiok, you can't resist having more. Such an irony.

Also, they have a booming good business so it is best advised that if you want your food fast, call at least 15-20minutes before to make your order, and when you're there, remind him your order again, so that you ensure that your food gets served! (In the past when I used to work nearby, we would call and order up to 9 bowls, so the calling-answering service came really handy)

I can't put a word to it except it makes you WANT IT EVEN MORE! You really have to try it!! 

Carrot Cake (BEST BREAKFAST)

This is definitely one of my number 1 favourite breakfast - Fried Carrot Cake + Egg (Best accompanied with Soya Bean Milk + Chin Chow).   

I love love love love love love fried carrot cake. Especially those that are not oily at all! I can't remember specifically the store name, but it is nearer to the afternoon market, beside a fruit store, at the same section as the ban mian. Apart from selling Carrot Cake they sell porridge too. So just look our for that. Pretty prominent. 

The Carrot Cake were once again, fried to perfection. It wasn't overly charred or too soft to hold on your chopsticks. The uncle did a little dance when he was frying too, so it was kinda funny to watch him do that. And just so you know, this plate only cost $2.50. TWO FREAKING  DOLLARS & FIFTY CENTS.  

What's more, the generous amount of Egg, and Chai Por (preserved radish) that were evenly spread out just make you want to reach out for another mouth over and over again! I can die a happy girl already. Its been so long since I tasted a really good carrot cake. 

Ahhh, Carrot Cake has been an all time favourite for me, since young, my aunty-cum-nanny would always packet this when a specific carrot cake store was opened (I heard it has shifted, but no idea where any more). And she is only charged like $1.50 for it when it is usually sold for $2.00. Reminds me of the good old days, after school, heading back home and having Carrot Cake. Best comfort food! Hee! (:

The simple pleasures in life, that nostalgic feeling. 

As all Singaporeans would say - SHIOK AH!

XX 

ANDREA

Dim Sum @ Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant [Food Review]

Thanks to forgetting/ not noticing that Victor's Kitchen @ Sunshine Plaza Middle Road was closed on Monday, we had to change our plans and head down to Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant over at Carlton Hotel for Dim Sum! 

It was a birthday lunch by my boss! (: 

Taken with my Blackberry. Sorry for the grainy photos!

 
Overall, my experience at Wah Lok restaurant was maybe a 3.5/5.  Their service were impeccable. The service staffs were really observant, and will offer to change your dirty plates. Not every restaurants in Singapore are like that. It made it felt worth while to tip them or even pay for the service charge!

Out of all the dishes, I really liked the Chee Cheong Fun (rice noodle rolls) with prawn. They were really soft, and the prawns were damnnnn delicious and succulent. Same goes for the Har Gow (Prawn Dumplings) - a very fine dumpling skin and chewy prawns! (Honestly, think I will have a heart issue in the future with the amount of prawn I'm eating. Goodness)

The "Po Luo Bao" (Pineapple Bun) - which is also what they were famous for, was generously filled with a lot of BBQ char siew (marinated pork) and was a delish to start of with! 

Because I was craving for my XO steamed carrot cake from Victor's Kitchen, I just had to give the Wah Lok version a try. It was filled with generous amount of bacon/charsiew and dried shrimp. The sauce wasn't too salty but added the right amount of saltiness to the plain carrot cake. Overall, I would still prefer the one at Victor's Kitchen, but I must say the radish/white carrot tasted really smooth. The texture was really good and it even has strains of the carrot that weren't fully blended/mashed in it.

The other dishes like the egg tarts/chicken glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf/custard bun and Mango & Pomelo Sago dessert were pretty ok. Nothing much to rave about actually.

I'm not really a huge fan of custard bun, but this wasn't as runny as I would prefer usually. A thicker texture in comparison to the one at Swee Choon down at Jalan Besar. The lotus leaf rice was a bit too soft for my liking, but generally the taste was still on par with the others out there.

The dishes price ranges between $4 - $12 depending on what you order. 

Once again, thank you "Mum" (or also known as my manager) who treated Adeline and I to this lunch!

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant @ Carlton Hotel, Level 2.
76 Bras Basah Rd  
Singapore 189558

Mondays to Saturdays
Lunch served from 11.30am to 2.30pm</ i>
Dinner served from 6.30pm to 10.30pm

Sundays and Public Holidays
Lunch served from 11am to 2.30pm
Dinner served from 6.30pm to 10.30pm

For reservations and enquiries, please call (65) 6311 8188 / 8189

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken [Food Review] - I just ate salt.

This is probably my first post where I complain about what I just ate. And yes, it was that bad, that it motivated me to write an entry right away on the very next day. 

In case you're wondering I'm the typical Singaporean who LOVES to dip my fishball in the soya sauce with chilli padi, and ocassionally poke the chilli padi into my fish ball and chew it while I'm having my fish ball noodles. I have no problem with thai food that mainly uses fish sauce and chilli crab or even pepper crab. 

My tolerance for salty intake is probably 7/10 and my chilli tolerance level is probably 8/10  

(I even survived the buffalo wing over at Buckaroo.)

(Chicken) Tonkatsu Salad for $9.95 SGD

What I had was the worse Salad I have ever tasted. I swore on my life, I would eat the Grilled Chicken Salad over at Mcdonalds over this. I know they are famous for their fried chicken. But while queuing at the store, I had a small peek at how they were laying those already fried chicken wings in the open and I thought to myself, "ewww, musn't be very nice to have cold wings right?"

I know they need to toss them in soy garlic and hot sauce, but seriously, it was a one fat tray of chicken wings sitting at the top. It was near where the collection point was. Yucks! Not for me. Don't seem any where near fresh to me.

If you're a fan of Japanese food, some what or another, you may have know about the Japanese soy/sesame dressing that they use for their salads. Over at 4FingersCrispyChicken, they toss the lettuce, a few slices of tomatoes and Chicken Katsu over the greens with this Jap dressing. My gawd. I think it is just my luck, or the person who was in-charged of the salad was in a bad mood, or had wanted me to die of kidney failure right after the meal. 

I felt so disgusted by the food that I was eating. There were no red onions or even white onions to help to keep the salad refreshing. Seriously, if you can't deliver proper salad, then don't even bother putting it up on your menu. Pisses me off. Such a horrible experience. I would rather walk to cold storage, and buy a bowl of veg and eat it raw. Seriously.

Chicken Chop (tossed in soy garlic) Meal + Seaweed Fries - $9.95 SGD

This was what Juvena had. She really had a problem trying to dissect the Chicken. Yes, I use the word dissect. Astons, you win hands down. It was a hearty portion for hers and the chicken was really difficult to come apart. Not sure if it was because it was pre-fried beforehand and fried again before serving ( I know most places does that, but this was horrible too). Do I even have to mention about the salty level?

The only highlight were the seaweed fries that was a lot better than Mcdonalds (salty) seaweed fries. It really tasted like real seaweed were sprinkled over them.

The Calamari & Shrimp tossed in Hot Sauce $7.95 SGD

I ordered an additional side for the both of us, this time round it was tossed in hot sauce. Which was really HOT. I guess this wasn't really a highlight. They were ok. I don't even know how to comment if they were fresh or not. All I can remember was that it was like a mixture of Marmite and Hot Sauce for the dressing. 

That they are really salty.

I know they are pretty famous across Singapore, but I apologise, after this experience. I will never ever step in and have a taste of their chicken. I would rather do KFC, Popeyes and Arnolds' (yet to try jollibee) . But this is based on my probably  unlucky visit to the place. So if you still insist on going and....you have a super powerful kidney........

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken
Plaza Singapura #01-32 (Beside Starhub/Aldo)
Opens from 11am to 11pm

xx

Andrea

ANNYEONGHASEYO - Hanwoori Korean Restaurant [Food Review]

#insertrandompicture Everyday At work, I face this bunch of cute buddies. that cheers me up on my boring days! #selfentertainment . Occasionally I would spin Patrick around, cause he's just so retarded and idiotic looking. Awww. I MISS MY NICKELODEON CHANNEL.

ANNYEONGHASEYO !!  
Ok, I can't believe I'm using that as my opening line. People close to me  should know that I'm never a huge fan of Korean food but I was introduced to this store because of my Secondary school class gathering the other day. 

If you're a fan, then I guess, you're in for a treat.

Alright, here's the FAQ questions (actually just 3 questions that have been frequently asked by friends) now..

Q: OMG! Andrea, its the korean craze phase now, why you no like Korean food!!
A:  I never like spicy Kimchi, always found things cold unattractive and... come'on where does Ginseng Chicken Soup have gotta stand when I have my trusty Herbal Chicken Soup that my mum boils on a bi-weekly basis (shiok-slurps). But hey! now that they have Korean bbq, I LOVEEEEE that! But that's just because it's bbq with no other cold dishes (I will skip them deliberately).

Q: Really? How about rice cake. They are the yummiest! 
A: Ewwww. No way please. I had tried my very first and very last rice cake when I was doing internship at Amara Building. And it was the worse thing I have ever tasted. In fact, I was exposed to Korean Food when I was over there. I had my first Korean meal in one of the restaurants at Amara Hotel but wasn't to my liking. Obviously I didn't know what to order too.. So... I stayed clear from Korean Food until the last time I tried the Korean BBQ and this.

Q: So you don't like anything Korean related?
A: Fact is, NOT TRUE. I do like Korean related stuff. I am not generally a crazy fan of much stuff that are usually trending. I don't see a purpose trying to look like a korean, or trying to learn their language, or be in the Super Junior, or whatever girls trend. I know of their existence. But that's all I know about them. But I do watch running man, once in a while, and I thought it was a really good show to follow especially when life is so stressed up! Whether I would visit Korea, is a good question - because it isn't on the top of my bucket list, but.. for the cheap & affordable cosmetic brand.. maybe I would.... But.. till the day North Korea decides not to read up on Hitler's Manual, then maybe I would give it a good thought.

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Honey Citrus Tea - This is what the 3 of us ordered in the end. It tasted a little bit funny at first, but the taste was adaptable. I apologise, but I was a bit sceptical with the food I was about to ingest.

Free flow of side dishes. You read me right! They have free-flow of side dishes for all main courses ordered. It does look little, but you can always request more rounds. Usually, when I see such "cold dishes" I would avoid, but I thought to myself, why not be a tad bit adventurous and give it a try. Fact is, the Kimchi was to my liking, and they had a apple salad mix which was good as well!

Sundubu Jjige - Spicy Soft Tofu Stew with Rice: This was what I had at the end of the day, flipping through the menu. I read it on someone's blog that it was a dish to try, and I wasn't really into seafood (like mussels and squids) so I thought this would be the best choice. The soup base is thicker and inside you can find Tofu of course, as well as golden straw mushroom, clams, prawn and kimchi vege. I loved it. Everyone loved my soup. So glad I chose the right dish! (:

Kimchi Jjige - Kimchi Stew with Rice <- this was what Lydia had. the ingredients found in the soup were similar to mine, except I think there weren't lots of tofu in it. The soup however tasted a lot different. It was lighter, slight sour-ish, and a bit spicier. So.. I guess it really depends on your taste buds!

Bibimbap! The generosity of ingredients doesn't it already make your tummy rumble rumble! Wanqi had a taste of this, and I took a mouthful to try. I love how the vegetable add a unique crunch to the dish! Way better that.. bibigo! 

I would say.. this is 3/4 of our class! (: Oh, yes, they have a rather large sitting area, so if you're organising a budget good-to-hang-around place for dinner, this is the place to be!

That's Wanqi in Green and Lydia in Yellow .We were like a pop of coulour all together. Loved how pop-ish we were! Hee. BUT still, I really cannot express HOW FLAT MY HAIR IS. SERIOUSLY - HAIR VOLUMNISE YOURSELF ABIT LEH!

Hanwoori Korean Restaurant
76 Serangoon Garden Way
(it is opposite UOB bank and at the stretch where dessert story is)
Reservations - 62836339 

Dangsin-Eulbogo! Joh-Eun Halu Doeseyo!

키스
안드레아 (according to googletranslator, this means that should be my korean name)