Optimist, Activist,Optometrist and Reservist. Welcome to my world.

Showing posts with label Foodie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foodie. Show all posts

Sunday, 9 September 2007

Jasmine's Bday Series 1: Nando's and Brunetti's

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASMINE!
Our Dearest 'Ah Ma'

We had planned this (in secret) all along! To surprise Jasmine the weekend before her actual birthday. Our friend, Luke even had to miss his badminton training just for this special event! Jasmine and Hao Na had clinic practice till 5.30pm that day, so they met up with us at Melbourne Central, Nando's.
Nando's
MELBOURNE CENTRAL
309 Melbourne Central,
Melbourne 3000
03 9654 9888


A pleasantly surprised Jasmine upon receiving her special Bday Card:

She was happy.. until...

...she opened the card..

It reads.. HAPPY B'day AH MA!!!

Next was her pressie presentation ceremony:

We gave her her all time favourite 'Ah Ma' bag (bottom left) and 'Ah Ma' Scarf...

...complete with 'Ah Ma' Undergarments (Granny Panties)! *Eeew!*

Next, we proceeded with the feast after much (delaying and) fanfare..


This was what we ate:

Nando's Chicken with medium spicyness and low spicyness, fries and chicken Ribs!

JJ Rating: 3/5 - food was quite alright! The spices they use are damn 'shiok'. Real Peri-Peri Peppers. Medium is just right (maybe too spicy for some girls). I loved the fries! When you order 'Ribs', don't expect pork ribs, it's a chicken shop. Expect tiny bite-sized chicken ribs, rather unique! Service could be better though..

BRUNETTI

Brunetti City Square Café - Gelateria - Creperia
214 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000

This was where we went after meeting up with my uncle at Crown Casino. That's where I received my belated bday pressies! From Crown, we took a nice stroll down to Flinders where we dropped by at Brunetti! This Brunetti has much lesser selection of cakes and tarts and lacks the cosy atmosphere of the Lygon Branch, but it's a nice place to celebrate.. under the stars!

Looks a little like a Glasshouse..


We asked for a B'day Candle..

That's a huge candle!

A sample of what we ate:




We had to pose quickly for these photos! The sparkler was dying down fast!

After sending Xiao Luke off, we headed home.. Time for fun with Ah Ma new clothes!

Surprisingly, the Granny's looked quite good on us!

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Tuesday, 10 July 2007

Foodies Anonymous #1

Ok, I admit, I'm NOT a hardcore foodie. Neither am I an expert food critic. This is just a sample of the food I like.. which most people would find palatable.




FIN Seafood Cafe, Marina Square



Heard that anyone could get oysters for only SGD$1/ piece every mon, Xiaoping and I decided to head down to our favourite hang out mall, Marina Square, which is just a 10 min bus ride/mrt ride down from my home. Sadly, we arrived there at 1400 hrs.. still too early for 'Oyster night' which starts after 1500 hrs.. But they were still reasonably priced at SGD$1.95. We chanced upon an INCREDIBLE OFFER for weekday luncheon at FIN:





This:




Mussels as Starters...



+




Seafood Pasta ala Olio UP: SGD 11.90



+




Apple crumble for Dessert and free flow Coffee



=




Cost: SGD 8.00 !!!



As you can see from above.. it's a STEAL!! It's Criminal!! Food was quite good (despite everything being ready made) but as usual, service sucked BIG time. Waiters seemed pretty un-motivated, they don't smile or greet you. They ignore you and simply want you to just finish up and get out of their lives.. forever. Here's an interesting thought: I read from a Men's Magazine that in Singapore, Fresh Seafood is only delivered to the restaurants and various eateries twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays. Therefore, the BEST time to get seafood are on these days. The WORST time to have seafood is on MON.. simply because the seafood have been sitting in the refrigerator for a consecutive 4-5 days already. This makes me wonder.. Is that the reason why Oyster Night is on Mon?



DESSERT TIME!


One of my personal fav:


Tom's Palette
100 Beach Road #01-25 Shaw Leisure Gallery, Singapore 189702


(Shaw Towers)



Tom's Palette is a rather cool hang out place to be! Very cosy environment, the staff are friendly, service is good and personalised and you can to try all the ice-cream before you finally settle for 2 of your favourite flavours for only SGD$2.80 (small cup) or SGD$4.00 (big cup). I loved their local creation Tau Sar Piah Ice cream but when I went there on 090707, it was gone! Instead, I had Horlicks Ice-cream and Ed's Tea (tastes like Teh Tarik). Customers can also order ANY flavour they want by the Tub and they'll discuss with you if that particular flavour can be made and also the price of your request. Love the (liang cha) cooling tea that your grandma makes? Turn it into ice-cream then.. and double the chill.. with cheese!


Fans of the place can't help but leave traces of them being there in the very conveniently positioned Fan Board. Examples of 'Fan Art ':

















Lastly, there's supper:


East Coast Lagoon Food Village



When I went there on 090707, a Mon night, many of the food stalls have already closed for the day. Only One recommendation from there:


Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork

Stall No 4, East Coast Lagoon Food Village

East Coast Parkway






They basically served pretty good Wanton Mee (steamed meat dumpling noodles), however, it the Char Siew is their selling point. Sorry, I'm not able to provide a picture of the dish because I was so hungry then I practically gobbled it up!



I also ordered a plate of sambal fried lala (clamshells) and sugar cane. Would have ordered BBQ Chicken wings, Stingray, Oyster Omelette and Hokkien Mee if I had the opportunity!
Tip of the day: when eating clamshells of any kind, be it hum or lala.. if the shell is UNOPENED, DO NOT TRY TO OPEN IT! The following images are graphic and explicit in nature. They should not be viewed by expecting mothers and the faint hearted...with cheese. This is what you get if you do:



EEW!! The single most harrowing experience I ever had in East Coast Park. The stall which I ordered this dish from was actually recommended by Channel U...