Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010 everyone!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Everyone!

And a Happy 1st Year Anniversary to us!! :-DDD

Updates!

Adel went to meet her mentor at the Airport around 3pm on the day of A&A's half year anniversary, so A&A took the chance to check out Terminal 3 and also to see if there was any particular restaurant they could eat at to have a mini celebration.

They traipsed around T3 like tourists, people that A&A found to be ironically missing in the airport.

Unlike T1, T3 was almost completely deserted, so we got to see it in it's massive architectural wonder without having to jostle with other tourists.

Half Year Anniversary Flowers!

While Adel was discussing some HR-related news with her mentor, Adal snuck out and got flowers!

We eventually didn't want to spend money on the restaurants around the area (since it was empty and rather boring), so we went off to Kuishin Bo @ Great World City!

The chawanmushi was nice.

Bamboo Clam with garlic and spring onions; very nice.

The Japanese hotpot - Adel put too much chilli inside, and we couldn't touch much of it (except as a dipping sauce =.=).

Abalone Porridge, which was rather sad.

Crabs! and Prawns! Adal found the crabs to be overrated; they weren't very meaty and hence wasn't worth the effort to extract what little meat they had.

Teriyaki Salmon

All in all, the half year anniversary food was quite alright, though for the price we paid, we were pretty sure we'd have had preferred some place synonymous with Fine Dining. We paid like, $60 per person. We had the feeling we'd have gotten much better food at a fine dining restaurant, or even if we had chosen to gorge ourselves with portuguese crabs at Fish and Co, we'd have gotten our money's worth.

Anyway.

On another random Saturday after pay day, A&A went to Serene Centre!

We wanted to have our now monthly Pay-Day Treat, and wanted some cheap(ish) french food, so we went to La Petite Cuisine.

We're not sure if photography was allowed, though the lady chef told us she'd have to charge us for the photos. We weren't sure if she was kidding, but we would have bolted like rabbits if she had actually brought out her knife. We also hear they do horrible things to rabbits in western countries. (They call them Connies regardless of their gender, for one thing.)

Complimentary bread with packaged butter. The bread was warm! A&A were pleasantly surprised.

Spinach Ravioli Starter - it was great! The cream wasn't cloying or overly thick, and the spinach was wrapped in a ravioli that was thick enough to hold the spinach and be substantial, yet thin enough to not taste like we were eating floury handkerchiefs.

Steak, medium well - the portion wasn't very big, but it was very juicy and tender without being bloody, all in all very satisfying.

Dessert - coffee and cheese cake! The cheese cake was a little hard (fresh from the freezer, ahem) and was a challenge to cut with a plastic fork, but the coffee was great.

And with that, we have some news to break: Ayam Penyet Ria is now shifted to Jurong Point!

Ayam Penyet Ria - The chilli is the best.

8th August 09!

Adel brought Adal on a date at the Science Centre!

The moving picture of President Nathan reminded A&A of the scene from Harry Potter, except that the President probably had too much to eat and hence only shifted from side to side looking slightly irritated.

The Vortex... OF DOOM.

Seriously though, it was only like, a cm wide. Not spectacular but interesting nonetheless to drown the little plastic swimmer inside repetitively. Hours of fun.

The bright spot you see is an electrical discharge from a massive generator nearby. It was crackling continuously.

And we also went to the Da Vinci Exhibition but no photos were allowed =(

More updates to come!

Vanilla Pod!

Backdated Post from the 15th August 09!

A&A had been planning a zoo trip for the longest time (it was either that or Sentosa, and the rides there are soooper expensive and A&A aren't exactly the type to jump into the sea), so since Adel had planned the Science Centre trip the previous week, Adal decided to do something nice for Adel this time!

After the Zoo trip (which was interesting, somewhat tiring and not as exciting as they'd hoped it would be), Adal brought Adel to Vanilla Pod (along Mandai Lake Road). The restaurant is accessible by taking the bus from the zoo and alighting at the very next stop. You can also easily find cabs outside the restaurant.

When walking in, we nearly got lost because it's actually quite well hidden. The shop is to your right. Just keep going until you reach a glass house near the lake.

Well laid out table, with air-conditioned respite.

Interior of restaurant - very cool despite the glasshouse effect.

Our starter - complimentary bread with balsamic vinegrette - the bread was soft was warm, but a little dense, reminding Adal a little of Miss Marple (Australia)'s scones. The vinegrette was great.

The Trio Mushroom Soup was fantastic, sweet and savoury with small chunks of mushrooms that would make a hobbit bite his handkerchief in a manly display of pleasure.

Canadian Seared Scallops! We cannot remember what the sauce was, but the scallops were slightly pinkish in the centre, very fresh and also quite big. We were at first apprehensive about eating scallops that aren't cooked thoroughly, but our first bite dispelled all our doubts.

Red Snapper Fillet! It was actually rather buttery, but very fresh and not over cooked. It's great on it's own, or with pasta or something light, but not, obviously with the below dish:

Crispy and Crackling Pork Knuckle - it was actually fabulous, but since it's pork knuckle, your arteries would despatch emergency resources to handle the unfortunate collision of buttery red snapper fillet with lard-filled pork knuckle. It required a pre-ordering, too, since there're limited knuckles made per day. It would be great with some beer.

It was very crispy and crackling.

Strawberry Mille-feuille! Nice and crispy, with the tartness of strawberry and sweetness of cream and powdered sugar. It was really quite good, though Adal felt the flavours were too well balanced - an accentuated flavour would have brought the oomph out of the pastry, or in this case, the le oomph.

One point that A&A would remember with fondness is the impeccable service of the waitstaff there. Despite being dressed in bermuda pants and just a t-shirt, we were served promptly, and the young lady serving the restaurant was attentive, smiling and un-intrusive.

When Adal is served his food or has his water re-filled in any restaurant, he has a habit of saying 'thank you', and it always irks him somewhat that waitstaff don't reply him or acknowledge it at all. What happened to Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen? That was not the case in Vanilla Pod; the lady serving us smiled or said "you're welcome" everytime he said thank you.

This restaurant is Very Well Deserving of the Singapore Service Star Award. If you want to impress your date, this is the place to bring her/him. Good service, good food, good atmosphere.

Address:

200, Mandai Lake Road

Mandai Orchid Garden

6368 0672

Half Year Anniversary!! 27-06-2009

HAPPY HALF YEAR ANNIVERSARY DARLING!! :-)

12th June - Ma Maison!

12th June! A&A went to Ma Maison at Clarke Quay for the long awaited lunch. Adal had heard good things about the hamburger (which takes 3 days to prepare), so he was craving for something special.

Adel, however, wasn't feeling too well that day, so the food didn't taste fantastic to her :(

The interior of Ma Maison is quaint and warm, with odd potpourri of cultures seen all over the shop - on the one end we see bronze pans from England, then license plates from America, Tiger Beer from Singapore, and Japanese posters here and there. All in all, it was an interesting thematic experience.

We ordered the lunch set, which came out to be around $38 for 2 persons.

Bacon and clam chowder soup! It was really salty because of the bacon (which was soggy), and didn't really taste very nice. The salad had an interesting sesame taste, and also an odd miso-like taste which Adal couldn't quite place. It was quite nice, compared to the soup.

Adal wants a lamp like this for their house which is coming in June 2011!

Adal's set - Set A - Hamburger with choice of rice or bread. Adal went for Rice as he expected the hamburger to be not very filling.

Close up view of the hamburger. Adal has to admit he was quite disappointed because although it had a nice soy sauce base, it was a little too salty and the sauce had all but evaporated by the time he started eating. Also, the fries were soggy and cool, and he would have appreciated mashed potatoes.

Adel's Set! Egg Omelette with rice + Beef Straganoff (however you spell it). The straganoff was quite tasty, and the eggs were nice and runny. There wasn't much beef, as you can see in the pic.

Our key, which is used to pay the bill. Adal wonders what is the origin for this interesting method of tagging tables.

Tea!

The entire meal wasn't fantastic, and Adal had such high expectations of the meal he knew he'd be disappointed somehow. But all in all, as long as it is a day spent with his darling wife, he's not complaining :-D

Melbourne Day 0

Day 0 in Australia!
30th April 2009, Thursday

Adal and Adel are back from Australia!! The past 9 days have been absolutely fantastic despite some hiccups along the way, and they're both extremely happy to have been able to travel overseas spend time together. The entire trip has been quite eventful.

Several days before the trip, Adal had developed cold sores on his lips, and he had thought it would go away in a while (thinking they could be sun burn like he had before), but they persisted all the way throughout the trip. Since they were slightlyl numb and swollen, they were highly uncomfortable, and Adal found out through a pharmacist at the airport that it was a stress-induced reaction which could be alleviated with Hydrocortisone. He ended up going through most of the vacation with white cream smeared all over his lips that made him look slightly idiotic. Even now, Adal's lips are cracking and bleeding in some areas, making it difficult for him to speak or smile even.

On the 30th April, Thursday, Adal and Adel went to Changi Airport in the morning to catch the morning flight to Sydney to transit to Melbourne. Since they had to check in earlier, they sat down to get a drink and pose for some pictures prior to setting off. The flight took 7 hours, and it was night by the time they reached Sydney. From T1, they had to get to T3, and checking out from the Sydney Terminal 1 out was a horrible mess caused by intermittent delays, bad signages, unclear instructions, no clear demarcation of lines, and bad infrastructural planning in the airport. Despite the delays, they were just in time for the last transit bus to T3, which was quite a distance away. When they were nearing the door to the bus terminal, Adal asked Adel if it was air-conditioned. When they both stepped out, they felt the instant coolness of the air. It was cooler than any air-conditioning they'd ever felt! They both loved it.

After 1.5 hours on the plane, they realised Melbourne was even colder, at 9 degrees. Adeline's Uncle, Uncle Keith, came out to fetch them from the airport, and it was really nice of him because East Australia is 2 hours ahead of Singapore, which means he came by to fetch them around midnight in the freezing cold. The drive to their home (where Adeline's Yi Zheung and Ah Yi, Uncle Keith and Aunt Ruth, had so generously agreed to house them for their duration in Melbourne ) took around half an hour, and they were ushered into the house, where they promptly unpacked and slept like pigs/logs until the morning.

Day 1 in Melbourne

Day 1 in Melbourne!
1st May 2009, Friday

The problem was, morning came slightly earlier than expected for 3 reasons:

1) Melbourne is GMT+10, (SG is GMT+8), so day would come 2 hours earlier,

2) day breaks earlier in Australia, and the sun sets earlier consequently - about 2 hours faster than in Singapore. What this means is that day breaks about 3 - 4am in Singapore time, which is about 5 - 6am Australia. Night falls by about 6.30pm, which means it's completely dark by 7pm.

3) They awoke to the sound of children running around the house. Usually this would freak Adal out since he doesn't live with children, but in this case he was listening for his little cousin's (Jemima's) voice.

It was really pleasant to be able to wake up to a frosty morning without having to have 4 jack russells barking at you. Adal and Adel were invited to help themselves to the bread in the pantry, and they toasted 2 pieces of raisin and nuts bread, which tasted quite good, mainly because they were really thick.

Aunt Ruth came back from bringing the kids to school, and drove A&A up to Mount Dandenong. The ride took about 45 minutes to an hour, but it was very interesting for A&A as it was the first time they were able to see wide sprawling plains and see the sky and mountains instead of seeing buildings and buildings all around. Plus, the weather was REALLY FANTASTICALLY COLD and therefore enjoyable for Adel but quite an interesting experience for Adal (i.e. freezing).

Road to Sassafras, Mount Dandenong

Sassafras is a suburb of Mount Dandenong, and is home to several Devonshire Tea shops. But Aunt Ruth was also bringing them up to look for other stuff too!

The Best Pie Floater East of Adelaide - The Pie in the Sky! Apparently, this award winning pie shop located in Olinda is well known by most locals. The secret to their success is really their flaky crust and the way the fillings stay warm and juicy even as the crust stays tasty and flaky.

Eating in will give you mashed potatoes, gravy and peas, which will cost slightly more than taking away, which will only give you the pie. A&A are now completely hooked on the pies!

Barely containing the drool

After the meal, we went for a short walk around the area.

Cool streets

We went into this quaint shop that sold all sorts of interesting stuff from masquerade masks, clocks, compasses, antique furniture and all sorts of aboriginal and wooden items that were fascinating and beautiful.

These are actually wooden containers with magnetic clasps - the cover of the 'book' would open to reveal some storage. Secret Stashes of money for the Missus, perhaps?

Along the way, they visited a charming toy shop selling wood-crafted toys and so on, and visited a cosmetics shop where Adel bought a delicious smelling Rose Champagne cream. The cosmetics shop had a unicorn in it's shop front! But Adal didn't take a picture of the unicorn because he was afraid he would be caught doing unmanly things in a foreign country. He's weird that way.

The walking gave them quite an appetite, and Aunt Ruth brought them to an English-cottage-themed coffeehouse called "Ms Marples". Ms Marples was actually a detective featured in Agatha Christie's novels, and the shop is named after her. The shop is famous for its Devonshire Tea, and in an area which features numerous Devonshire teaplaces, it's quite an accomplishment. Devonshire Tea consists of 4 basic elements, Clotted Cream, Jam, Scones and Tea - Ms Marples' clotted cream is foamy and soft, it's Raspberry Jam handmade, and its scones freshly baked and warm (and LARGE), coming in both fruit and plain flavours. They tasted like butter cake, actually.

The tea, Adal decided, was very nice, with a sweet fragrance and none of the acidity found in lipton teas. He bought a packet of it, as well as the Jam.

Happy couple in Ms Marples'

Menu

Tea, Scones, Jam and cream! Traditional English Tea?

Barely containing the drool again

After the lunch and tea, they went with Aunt Ruth to fetch Bryce and Jemima from their school and the rest of the afternoon was spent playing with Jemima and unpacking.

In the evening, Uncle Keith dropped them both off at Knox shopping centre as they had a dinner appointment, and Adal bought a thick woolen set of clothes which he wore throughout the vacation.

Adel wanted to get some boots, but was worried that she wouldn't be able to wear them in hot and humid Singapore (or that if she did, she would soon regret it anyway). They had dinner in the Knox food court, which was a very interesting concept - instead of the various stalls selling foods in the food court like in Singapore, the Australian food court concept consists of having various food establishments like Subway, Oporto (the OZ burger concept), Macdonald's, KFC, Hungry Jack's (Burger king in Singapore) etc all put together to form an amalgamated food place.

Adel went for the chinese food, while Adal wisely tried something local (his experience was that Chinese food in most countries are sadly tasteless, or in some unfortunate cases, too full of taste), and the choice proved right. The plate of chow mein Adel bought (as she wanted something hot) proved tasteless and greasy, while the dumplings she bought tasted quite alright though the chilli was shockingly salty. In fact, if it didn't look like chilli sauce, Adal would have mistaken it for a creamy and disgusting salt condiment. Adal had the chilli wrap, which was quite ok.

A&A enjoyed strolling in the cold weather very much. All in all, a very interesting day!