Qiuuing

FOOD . TRAVEL . SHOPPING Food is my saviour from my hectic work schedule. Since life is short, I might as well enjoy myself. I have a propensity to go crazy over fried chicken wings, aglio olio and bubble tea. Read on to find out more about my food journey. Follow me on Instagram @ qiuuing!

[qiuuing]

QIUUING

Food . Travel . Shopping

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[qiuuing]

This post is late in coming! My good friends and I had a meal at one of my favourite steakhouses, Pepper Steakhouse & Bistro, some time back in April. Pepper falls comfortably within the medium price range for steaks and it also has a variety of cuts to choose from.

We tried their set dinner which costs only $30++ (not sure if it is still available this month)! You have to ask for their set dinner menu, which is featured at the front of the restaurant and is slightly different from the American Express one.

The first course was caesar salad topped with deep-fried mushroom. Romaine lettuce, anchovy dressing, croutons, crispy bacon, boiled egg and mushroom.

You have a choice of mains, and of course I had the steak. Char-grilled ribeye steak with "pink peppercorn" sauce, served with fries and spring vegetables.

The other two mains are pan seared sea bass fillet, served with wasabi mash and garden vegetables, and grilled chicken breast accompanied with fresh  mashed potatoes, vegetables and mushroom sauce.

And now for the finale...

Possibly one of the best chocolate lava cakes!

The must-try dish when you are there is their prawn & truffle linguine ($18). Butter poached prawns and truffle linguine with rocket and parmesan crisp. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Pepper Steakhouse & Bistro 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Great World City, #01-66/67 Singapore 237994 Tel: [phone]

[qiuuing]

Sis treated mum to a Mothers’ Day meal at Botan Japanese Restaurant and of course, that meant that Dad and I were also invited.

We reached early so they were just setting up. We were so afraid that they were not opened! It was initially empty but filled up real quickly.

Dad had the Sashimi Set ($28). The slices were not very huge but they were thick. Also, the set came with so many other items like steamed egg, miso soup and rice! Very worth the money.

Mum opted for the Ladies Set ($30), which was one of the prettiest sets I have ever seen. Everything was plated elegantly and mum said that it was too much for her. The set had California roll, sashimi, tempura, steamed egg, miso soup and soba.

I had the Saikoro Steak ($20). I felt it was alright. The beef cubes were not very tender and were more towards medium then medium rare.

Sis ordered the most elaborated meal, the Chirashi Bento ($35). Assorted sashimi on top of seasoned rice with grilled mackerel, tempura, grilled chicken with sweet sauce, steamed egg and miso soup.

The sets came with dessert at the end which was vanilla mochi with red beans and an orange slice.

This place is seriously a hidden jem! The price is extremely reasonable and quality of food is good!

Botan Japanese Restaurant 

36 Pekin Street #01-01 Singapore 048766 Tel: [phone]

[qiuuing]

Before I start on my meal at Open Door Policy, I would like to share about how we got there. 

Our initial plan was to eat at Forty Hands, which is just across the road from the restaurant. However, they stopped serving dinner a month ago (though they still have not updated their menu), as they are concentrating on their brunch business. One of the staff told us that more updated information can be found on their Facebook page.

She then suggested for us to try Open Door Policy, which I have been putting off for a while due to the mixed reviews I have heard. It was still early then and we managed to secure a seat without any reservation.

There is a bar counter right at the entrance, I suppose to hold people during peak periods. You can also choose to sit at the counter and watch the chefs prepare your food. 

We intended only to have main courses here, so we only tried two items on the menu.

The first main course is the pan-seared barramundi with qazpacho crystal bread and panzamella salad ($28). The barramundi is one of my favourite fishes and this was prepared just nice (I hate it when the fish is overcooked). The bell peppers really complimented the fish.

Folllowing that, we had 48 hour braised beef cheek with red wine quinoa and beetroot puree ($30). The beef was tender, but I felt that it was a bit too heavy for one person to finish, especially for those who are unaccustomed to eating this part.

By the time we finished our meals, it was just beginning to turn dark. I wished we had space for dessert because we happened to see the man next to us having his and it looked awesome. This probably means I need to make another trip back!

Open Door Policy

19 Yong Siak Street Singapore 168650 Tel: [phone]

Opens on Monday, and Wednesday to Sunday, from 1200-1500hrs and 1800-2200hrs. Closed on Tuedays.

[qiuuing]

As scandalous as the title may sound, this post is going to be teeming with sweetness! My friend, Alain, brought me to try one of the cupcakeries he frequents (at least once a month, just to try the special flavours).

One thing I can surely say about this place is that you will never miss the storefront! It is so dainty and charming, with an appealing combination of baby pink and white. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

There are many flavours available, of which I had tried a few previously, courtesy of Alain. Until today, I can still conjure up the saccharine sweetness of their kaya cupcake!

Today, we opted to try two flavours: chocolate earl grey banana and rose vanilla.  

I expected the earl grey flavour to be only within the buttercream, however it seems like the cupcake itself is earl grey infused too. The ripe banana is the surprise at the centre. 

The rose vanilla cupcake also had fillings in the centre. This one had bits of raspberries!

I found the buttercream for these two a bit, for the lack of a better word, buttery for my liking. I think for people who are more health conscious (although I doubt anyone health conscious will be indulging in cupcakes), this might come across as oleaginous. That said, I feel that their flavours are unique and creative.

Kisses Bakery

55 Tiong Bahru Rd #01-02 Singapore 160055 Tel: [phone]

Opens daily from 1100-1900hrs.

[qiuuing]

My friend, Seth, invited me for a media tasting at Chicken Up, a Korean Fried Chicken (yes, that is what the KFC stands for) restaurant at Tanjong Katong. It is situated right next to the famous 2D1N Soju Bang Korean BBQ.

The interior is of various shades of yellow and red, and for all you K-pop fans, there is a TV playing K-pop music videos continuously. As for those of you who do not appreciate such music, do not worry, it is neither deafening, nor is it exasperating. 

The menu is pretty straight-forward, stating all the choices of chicken available. If you are a big eater, I would recommend that you opt for the buffet because you get to try more flavours and the chicken here costs about $5 a piece.

The first thing we had was the Watermelon Soju ($30). I must say that the display was very impressive! It came in half a watermelon, with dry ice. Then, the soju is poured in front of you into that gigantic bowl!

I am not much of a drinker but I did not feel the alcohol at all because the drink is very refreshing and the taste of the watermelon juice is very strong. We finished that whole bowl in no time at all!

And now, on to the chicken, which is what I think most of you are interested in.

We had the Yangnyum chicken ($22 for 4 pieces), one of the chef's recommendations. Crispy fried chicken with a spicy taste, coated with sweet and spicy sauce. This was finger licking good!

Next,we had Spicy Up ($18 for 4 pieces), another chef's recommendation. This promised crispy and juicy fried chicken with a spicy taste. However, to be honest, this was not spicy at all. 

In between our chicken feast, we had a side of truffle fries ($8), which is a new item on the menu. The truffle flavour was quite substantial.

We then moved on to Andong Chicken Stew ($33 for half a pot), a Korean style soy sauce chicken stew with potatoes, carrots, noodles and rice cakes. This was good, but by then, I hardly had any space left in my stomach!

My favourite chicken of the night was the Soya Chicken Wings ($12 for 4 pieces). Very fragrant and delicious!

And I saved the best for last!

The most memorable item for me was the Pear Soju and Yakult Soju ($25). You cannot give this a miss! The Pear Soju hits the right spot for all you sweet tooth out there!

According to the owner, Luke, the meat is all freshly prepared and they do not pre-cook their chicken. Hence, you have to wait about ten minutes before your chicken can be served. When you get there, be prepared to use your hands, it is the best way to enjoy your chicken!

Chicken Up

48 Tanjong Pagar Roadn #01-01 Singapore 088469 Tel: [phone]   Opens daily from 1730-0200hrs.

[qiuuing]

Sis baked oh-so-yummy yam brioche with coconut milk glaze! It was just too bad the colour of the yam was quite faint, so the swirls are not very visible in the pictures. But I can definitely vouch for its taste! The texture was akin to bread and butter pudding. It might be because the bread has absorbed the flavour from both the yam and the glaze. I hope sis still has more yam baked goods in mind!

[qiuuing]

Healthier alternative coming right up! I still cannot believe that I am blogging about greens! That is right. This post is for all those carnivores out there (like me) who should be converting to omnivores.

The Lawn Cafe believes in "meating your greens". They are a specialty cafe which allows you to customise your own salad, "pairing your favorite perky greens to your favorite premium grills, topped with the audacious teasing flavors of unique dressings." What is even better, is that the salads there range from only $9.90 to $11.90 ! 

The first thing you do when you get to the cafe is to take an order sheet and start looking through all the different choices. There are so many selections there that it is hard to make a choice.

On top of your mesclun salad ($7.90), you get to pick five toppings and one of their homemade dressings. The grills are charged additionally, from $2 to $4. 

After you are done, head on to the counter to place your order. For your information, they only accept cash or NETS. 

You will then be given a buzzer which will notify you when your order is ready for collection. 

Dad ordered char-grilled prawns with garlic, sliced egg, pineapples, beetroot, sunflower seeds, raisins and honeyball sauce (honey with dijon mustard).

I had aceto balsamic beef cuts, baby potatoes, sliced eggs, green apples, raisins, alfalfa sprouts and apple cider vinaigrette sauce. 

Our salads cost $10.90 and $11.90 respectively.

And if you are like my mum, who just simply could not make a choice, you can order one of their chef's pick combination. She had the Sweet & Chic ($9.90), which consists of chicken with maple infusion, pasta, cous cous, baby potatoes, sweet corn, egg and honeyball sauce. 

We were all very satisfied with our salads and intend to return again with my sister, who missed out on this yummy and healthy meal!

The Lawn At Biopolis

31 Biopolis Way

#01-07, Nanos

Singapore 138669

Tel: [phone]

Opens Monday to Friday from 1115-2100hrs and Sunday from 1000- 1600hrs.

[qiuuing]

I'm going to start a new series on my blog! Since I travel every school holiday, I thought it would be fitting to post things about my trips, from sightseeing to shopping to the most important thing of all... food! Stay tuned for the June edition when I make my way down to Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia! Can't wait for June to come!

[qiuuing]

It was a really hot and humid day and when we saw the sign 'Just Like It' (with a humongous ad for liquid nitrogen ice-cream), we just could not resist stepping into the place. The interior of the place was pretty cool, with different chemical equations around the walls and a huge board stating their specials.

There were also numerous conical flasks in the refrigerator below the counter containing various coloured liquids, presumably used for the creation of ice-creams. 

I ordered their 'mad scientist creation' of cola ice-cream with popcorn topping ($7.90). My eyes stayed riveted for the whole process, while my fingers kept snapping pictures.

This was what happened when they added the liquid nitrogen to the mixture...

So cool right? And now, you must be wondering how the ice-cream tasted.

Honestly, it was nothing special. The only thing phenomenal about it was the process of making the ice-cream. At the end of the day, it is still ice-cream and should I rate it as a normal ice-cream with the price I paid, it would not even make a 5/10.

My friend ordered their crepe with mango chunks and rum & raisin ice-cream. Same comments as above, in terms of taste, nothing really out of the ordinary. 

However, I would not miss this for the peculiar and memorable process! If you have not had liquid nitrogen ice-cream before, it is quite an experience seeing it made. 

Just Like It

26 Sentosa Gateway #01-201 Singapore 098269

Opens daily from 10am-10pm.

[qiuuing]

My sis baked unique cupcakes for my birthday! According to her, she had a hard time planning what to make because she had been trying to get hints from me and they kind of keep changing. Because of that, she had to constantly revise what kinds of cakes to make for me. In the end, she decided to incorporate some of my favourite items into one cupcake!

The pictures show the cupcakes in various stages of preparation. The plain cupcakes had coconut vanilla beans as the base. Next, was the layer of salted caramel frosting to form the round shape for the "apple." Lastly, the "apple" top consisted of red sugar, green apple sour candy as the leaves and sweet corn pretzel sticks as the stalks. Simply ingenious!

There was a surprise layer within the cupcake! It was taro paste! She initially planned for it to be somewhere in the middle, but because the cake was so soft and fluffy, it kind of sank to the bottom. 

I was very happy to receive my birthday cupcakes! My sis really put a lot of thought into making it and the cupcakes were very delicious! Thank you!!! 

[qiuuing]

I had the opportunity to try some ice-cream a few days ago by Joyride Creamery, which was set up by YY. Instead of using milk, she incorporates coconut milk into her ice-cream, which makes it suitable for vegans. 

The flavour that she brought that day was salted chocolate. She wanted some honest feedback about the taste of the ice-cream.

The ice-cream was yummy and tasted more like gula melaka, owing to the coconut milk base. Not that I am complaining since I love gula melaka, but just saying that the first flavour which comes to mind is probably not salted chocolate. My friend Amber swears by the coconut flavour.

I really love the logo! And the bicycle in it is significant. YY actually has a bike with a cooler which she uses to deliver her ice-creams! She does not has a physical storefront as yet, but you may follow on Joyride Creamery on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter @joyridecreamery.

[qiuuing]

I had a wonderful surprise in school today! A group of students from my English class bought me a birthday present. No, make that two birthday presents. I was really touched by the effort that they went through (aka babysitting for the past four days).

Here they are...

The male dwarf hamster, who is still a bit wary of people. They got him yesterday and I heard he peed on three of them while they were trying to play with him.

And the female, who has been handed by them for a few days, so she's tame. At times she would just sit and rest on your hand. She has been sleeping quite a lot, thus I do not have many photos of her yet.

They are nameless at the moment, thinking of names (starting with H to represent my students' class). I still cannot believe my students did so much for my birthday! The hamsters came with cages, bedding, food, bath, etc.

Thank you guys! You really should not have spent so much! But I really appreciate this lovely gesture.

[qiuuing]

Some interesting things I found over the weekend...

Did you know that Itacho sells bubble tea? Yes, that famous sushi chain! They have quite a variety of bubble teas and I ordered their strawberry milk tea (so boring right?). I feel that sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to get right.

The tea base was thick and distinctively Japanese. In addition, their pearls are one of the softest and chewiest pearls I have ever had. Their teas are priced around $2.50 per cup.

Another thing I tried for the first time is the Green Apple Flavour Burst from Macs, with their pink coloured cone. It has been around for a long, long time, but I have always been a Mcflurry fan, so I never got to trying this before.

I actually liked it! The flavour was kind of subtle and not overpowering. Also, it was not pricey at all! Only $1! I think I am going to try the other Flavour Burst flavours.

[qiuuing]

I had dinner just now at Westgate. My friend and I could not make up our minds about what cuisine to have for dinner because we were spoiled for choice. Finally, we decided to have Japanese for dinner and Western for dessert.

Ippudo was our choice restaurant. This is my second time patronising this restaurant and first time dining at this outlet. My previous visit was not very memorable. I just remembered having the original pork broth. This time I ordered something from their "featured ramen" list... the Spicy Black. 

I am afraid my pictures did not do the noodles justice. Here is their original broth with special spicy nikumiso, specially prepared using black pepper, shansho and other spices. The result? A tantalising mesh of flavours!

As with all their noodles, you can customise the "doneness" of your noodles. Mine was medium and I also added a tamago. A usual bowl of ramen here costs $15 and mine came up to $18 with the additional egg.

After dinner, we headed to Teadot for dessert. This place came to my notice after I saw cute pictures of their coffee art on my friend's Instagram feed.

As you step into the cafe, you will observe their pretty hanging light fixtures and colourful wall displays. The place is brightly lit and has a welcoming vibe. It was initially quite empty, with a few tables occupied by students studying.

I could not get over how pretty their cakes were! And you can tell that from the subsequent pictures.

The Praline ($6.70) was simply decadent! Look at the beautiful swirls of chocolate on top! If you love chocolate, you have to order this!

The Earl Grey Cake ($6.90) was something of an acquired taste. It did get better the more you eat it, but it is not something I will order again.

And so how was the coffee art? Cute I must say! However, the drinks were diluted, which was very disappointing. In my opinion, d'Good Cafe is still the best in terms of delivering both art and taste. If you are interested, the hot chocolate costs $6.75 and the matcha latte $6.80.

Ippudo SG @ Westgate

3 Gateway Drive #03-03 Singapore 608532 Tel: [phone]

Opens daily from 1100-2200hrs.

Teadot

3 Gateway Drive #01-08 Singapore 608532

[qiuuing]

Mum and sis had been craving for some Korean BBQ since yesterday and we finally made our way down to Ju Shin Jung today for dinner. 

It was not our first time there, but our last visit was a very long time ago. The place offers buffet, lunch sets and of course, a la carte. 

As with most Korean restaurants, there was a free flow of side dishes and the BBQ meats came with a huge platter of vegetables. 

The moment I opened the menu, I knew I had to order this marinated beef ribs, C2 Yangnyum ($49). My favourite cut when it comes to BBQ is the short ribs! The meat always seems to be able to absorb the flavour of the marinate completely and cooks on the BBQ grill perfectly.

If the restaurant is not really packed, you will have a wait staff at your table cooking your meat for you. Ours kind of abandoned us halfway because there were too many patrons. It was not such a huge issue because I always enjoy the barbecuing process.  

Other than the short ribs, we had another serving of beef, C9 Bulgogi ($50). I did not take any picture of that as it was just a huge mountain of brown (due to the seasoning). All of us preferred the short ribs anyway as the meat was thicker and marinate was more palatable. 

Sis ordered the seafood soy bean soup, S10 Hamuldaenjang ($16). It had some crab, one prawn and she would have missed the tiny clams at the bottom if she had not scooped the bottom portion.

We ended the dinner with a slice of orange and this chilled plum tea, which was sour and had a kick after awhile. The total bill for the four of us added up to about $140 after taxes.

Ju Shin Jung (Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant)

27 West Coast Highway

#01-18/19

Singapore 117867

Tel: [phone]

Opens daily from 1200-1430hrs and 1800-2200hrs. 

[qiuuing]

My first time trying Tumblr in an attempt to return to blogging after quite some time. I used to use Blogger, then tried switching to Wordpress (that blog died a slow and painful death) and Wix (loved how customisable it is, but I just found it tiring to have to make a new page every time I wanted to post something).

And so, moving to the present, I was already customising my blog skin on Blogger, when my sis adamantly stated that Blogger was voted the worst blogging interface. She then went on to show me how user friendly Tumblr is and how everything is customisable. And here I am! With my first post (about nothing as yet).

I am still working around different templates to see which one suits me best. Hopefully this is not the first and last post!