In the southern part of Singapore, there lies a beautiful island by name of Sentosa. Literally translated, Sentosa means Tranquillity in Malay. It was almost 10 years since I last stepped on the island, and yet indeed, it still possesses the rejuvenating and calmness effect – away from the frantic city life of mainland Singapore. Destiny had it that amidst my difficult period in my life, I was called onto the island to work on a conference for a week – and there begins my little adventure in the island. As the conference was held in Shangri la Rasa Sentosa, SilosoBeach and its surroundings was my hangout place throughout the one week I was there.
The Ben and Jerry’s outlet was definitely one of those places I looked forward to visit whenever I manage to squeeze a break from my conference.
Tucked in a little corner facing Delifrance café, with adorable decors of colourful and cutesy tables, the Dublin Mudslide Milkshake is a must try for all milkshake fans out there!
Also, amidst the resort itself, it comprises of a waterfront restaurant by the name of Sharkey’s. Sharkey’s at Rasa Quay allows you to have the freshest seafood with the sea breeze.
As recommended, we tried the Chilli Crab and the Seafood Udon. All the crabs are at least 1kg each and it is said that the heavier the Sri Lankan crab, the better the quality of the meat – I totally agreed.
The crab was meaty and juicy, and the gravy, although a tad spicy and too starchy, was a great combination. And what’s chilli crab without the deep fried or the steamed buns?
And the Udon, although a little small in portion for the price of $16.00, the ingredients were rather plentiful.
Just this week, I revisited the asian kitchen at marina square for a bowl of Vietnamese beef stick noodles.
And while waiting for the noodles, nothing beats having to indulge in the traditional Viet appetiser – the rice paper roll. Although the ingredients that usually make up the paper rolls are quite simple (rice noodles aka been hoon, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and prawns). The combination of them along with the special Viet sweet and spicy, usually made of fish sauce, vinegar and finely chopped chilli,simply bring out the best from the ordinary.
A normal bowl of beef noodles cost $7.90, but the braised beef adaptation will set you back $2.00 more. I personally prefer to go for the stick noodles aka mini kway teow but the outlet also offers rice noodles along with glass noodles.
Service is pretty standard but I did notice that the outlet kept repeating the same song over and over again throughout my 45 minutes there – Steven Curtis Chapman’s rendition of I Will Be Here - Thank goodness it was one of my favourite song.
- I really miss those days when we spend our time at the Viet restaurant eating your favourite beef noodles. Too bad we wouldn’t have the chance again! -
For the 1st time in 6 months, I have finally taken an MC from work today - Not that there is anything I'm proud of. The sore throat came suddenly and it’s so bad that I can literally feel the inflammation from the side of my oesophagus. And for guys, it is only time like this that we start to crave and drink those herbal stuff like Luohan and Red Dates in Chrysanthemum drinks.
Little wonder why only females lined up everyday during lunch breaks to purchase those drinks from the small store near my office everyday – because when the guys see the need to, they are probably too sick to get one themselves.
People often say "Once bitten, twice shy". I wonder, in life is it really that difficult to overcome a failure once you have encountered - may it be the pain, the guilt, the shame, the hurt, the disappointment? About 2 month ago, I tried my hands on cooking Fish Slice BeeHoon, my first in many months since I came back from Perth.
Even though it wasn’t fantastic, the joy of cooking again and the feeling of sampling the food I cook were astounding. Never to give up, I tried cooking it again a few weeks later and lo and behold, though the presentation was much better as compared to the my first try, it was much more oily and the soup wasn’t as tasty as I wanted it to be.
Would I try to cook and perfect it again? You bet I will. Would I shun away from it due to my past 2 failures – NO WAY!
All I do know is that if a 2nd chance is presented to me, I will grab it willingly and seek to improve on it. The question is, will there be this 2nd chance?
Ingredients used for my 2nd try
Fish Slice – 10 to 15 pieces
Prawns – 6 to 8, peeled and cleaned
Tomato – 1, cut into quarters
Bitter gourd – ¼ to ½, thinly sliced
Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves, smashed and not too thinly chopped
It is said all good things come to an end, and today will mark an end to my journey to the neighbouring land of Johor Bahru. However, as heavy-hearted as I sound, there are times when good things do last. And these good things I am referring to are the traditional Cantonese pastry that Chun Qiu Tang offers in Taman Sri Tebrau, opposite the famous “Da Ma Market” in JB. What's so good about them is the fact that pastry is baked on the spot and served fresh.
I am never a fan of such pastry as my throat never takes them too kindly; however my first bite into the char siew pastry completely convinces me that even a sore throat is worth it.
The egg tarts though, were a little bit disappointing. The crust is unlike the fluffy ones that I have tried before in Dim Sum restaurant in Perth, but those hard ones that I dread.
The traditional carrot cake though oily, was fried to perfection. Although might be a bit too sweet for some, I simply could not resist the crispy sides of the carrot cake.
Rating Food: 3.5/5 Service: 3/5 Price: 4/5 Total: 10.5/15 Taman Sri Tebrau, Opposite Da Ma Market, Johor Bahru
In my old neighbourhood, people used to address the market/food centre next to my block of flats as “San Low”. Tucked in the corner of Taman Pelangi, there also exists a San Low in the form of a Seafood Restaurant. You can immediately sense that the food it serves is of certain quality and standard by the sheer amount of tables filled, along with the amount of chefs cooking enthusiastically in their “open concept kitchen”.
A definite MUST TRY would have to be the Fried Bee Hoon. It is woked fried to perfection by the chef flattening the Bee Hoon, giving it the charred tang and strong aroma the moment you taste it.
Another good dish that I would recommend would be the black pepper crab. Although the gravy is a bit too watery, the smack is still spicy and tasty enough.
Another fav among many tables is their steam fish – although not live, there is a wide variety of fish to choose from.
Rating Food: 4.5/5 Service: 3/5 Ambience: 3/5 Price: 4.5/5 Total: 15/20 Jalan Biru, Taman Pelangi, 80400, Johor Bahru
The Ben and Jerry’s outlet was definitely one of those places I looked forward to visit whenever I manage to squeeze a break from my conference.
Tucked in a little corner facing Delifrance café, with adorable decors of colourful and cutesy tables, the Dublin Mudslide Milkshake is a must try for all milkshake fans out there!
Also, amidst the resort itself, it comprises of a waterfront restaurant by the name of Sharkey’s. Sharkey’s at Rasa Quay allows you to have the freshest seafood with the sea breeze.
As recommended, we tried the Chilli Crab and the Seafood Udon. All the crabs are at least 1kg each and it is said that the heavier the Sri Lankan crab, the better the quality of the meat – I totally agreed.
The crab was meaty and juicy, and the gravy, although a tad spicy and too starchy, was a great combination. And what’s chilli crab without the deep fried or the steamed buns?
And the Udon, although a little small in portion for the price of $16.00, the ingredients were rather plentiful.
