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WE HAVE MOVED!

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Jing-le All the Way

Of all pictures, why this one? I love how beautifully broken-in the Soon Hock fish (or Marbled Goby), looks...The scalded fish tasted spectacular...clean and tender - we gobbled it up rather quickly between the five of us even though we were so stuffed...Yum cha galore, steaming hot soup, claypot ginger chicken stew, fatty pork knuckle in sweet black vinegar, signature wasabi prawns, all this and more can be found at the newly-opened Jing @ One Fullerton (Tel : 6224 0088). Just walk in any weekend, and pay one price to be fed everything on the menu - a la carte buffet - S$36++. Paired with my favourite pu-erh tea, the brunch experience was one big adventure as all of us went for almost everything on the menu and polished designer bowls and plates, and licked cleanly off every copper cutlery we touched. It was that good, and such a value-for-money meal must be given 110% devotion and commitment (in tummy and soul)= infinite satisfaction. Like the 50-over items on the menu isn't enough, we ordered an additional plate of Boston lobster with ee-fu noodles for another $18++. And ended with a sugar overload - mango and pomelo with sago, and avocado drinks served in chilled champagne flutes, assorted tropical fruit platter, Chinese pastries (wasabi and red bean roll was delish), and homemade ice-cream (milo flavour ran out :( ). We were stuffed as bloated sushi...burp.

What's New at the Old Market?

I guess the only thing that's worth going to Lau Pa Sat Festival Market (18 Raffles Quay;http://www.laupasat.biz/)

for is the satay served on the street. Over 120 stalls, with loads of different global cuisines to pick from under your nose, the stall lights and menus can be quite deceiving to the untrained eye. Especially at the seafood ones which don't really put up prices, and freshness of crustaceans and fish are questionable sometimes. Everything else is so-so...the char kway teow we ordered last night were tasteless and lacked colour, the local desserts such as ice kachang were sub-standard - served more like a fat ball than a tall peak of colourful sugar syrup and sweet corn. The only saving grace were probably Rojak Ministry, yum cha and the kooky young coconuts. I walked around inside in circles, and noticed that there was a mini concert playing Jewel's '90's hit, You Were Meant For Me, going on right in the centre of the 150-year-old national monument. Yawn-worthy.

What An Eggy Delight!

What the heck is this, you may ask. Well, at Crystal Jade Kitchen(http://www.crystaljade.com/crystal_jade_kitchen.htm) there are loads of stuff to choose from the placemat that's also a menu - over 20 different congee and another 20 variations of noodles - my favorite being the shrimp dumpling noodles...slurrrrp...I have to say though that the dishes served in the Casual Dining category of restaurants are getting better, and the decor's more relevant to the times. Instead of the traditional hideous red banquet seats and round tables with the boring white table cloths, the chairs are lean in design, and the booth seats are mighty comfortable. It is still very Chinese, what with the shouting of orders in the kitchen, and taking orders on paper chits, written in huge Chinese characters, and chatter amongst service staff in Cantonese. I love it! Back to food...What the heck is this picture? It's huge prawns partially submerged in a platter of egg custard served very warm...yumsssss...the "2 egg with Chinese spinach" dish is an all-time favorite and can be eaten all by me-self. Really, Crystal Jade Kitchen is consistent in food quality, affordable in price and accessible in many countries within APAC.

The Grainy Craving

I truly dislike rice, but since the acidic-tummy episode which struck me not too long ago, porridge is my new best friend. The warm feeling in my tummy, and the calming effect it has on my body is unmistakable. Century and salted eggs are yums in my tums...And a good handful of chopped you tiao (fried dough sticks) gives me the crunch that I crave for almost always in all dishes all the time (sans the spring onions and fried onion thingeys). Very picky, huh...Ever since I embarked on my quest to try the best chok in Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, I have decided that Imbi Palace (No.8 Jalan Barat, Off Jalan Imbi; +603 2145 4822) serves the best chok. Ever. Straight out of the pot, the smooth blend of grains, sesame oil, pin-like ginger straws and generous chunks of black century egg, peppered lightly with super-crunchy you tiao, is unsurpassable by any other name. A big hit with the local crowds especially during the yum cha weekends, this is truly worth the trip across the causeway.

Hey Mykii...You Didn't Blow My Mind

We decided to trot over to Mykii - pronounced as mee-kai, (17D Lorong Liput, http://www.mykii.com.sg/) and dived into the lunch specials which were not bad at all. All four of us ordered different mains (soup + main course = S$9.80++). E and me went cold on pasta with fresh tomatoes, mock crab meat and straw mushrooms topped with an almost-perfect sphere of fried egg. The mock crab meat was yuck - and honestly, if serving a cold dish, best to serve in a chilled bowl, or over a hidden pouch of ice in a glass bowl - accompanied by a tall shot of tomato puree. The chicken and tofu burger was not bad at all, and was as tasty as it looked (check out the picture on the sidebar). However, the Dory which K waited eagerly for, looked like an absolute mess - the fish looked like it was carelessly thrown on the plate and haphazardly dressed in creamy sauce. We were clueless about what that fish plate was about. Will I visit again? Most definitely. The a la carte menu looks more exciting than the lunch offerings, and way sexier - Prawn Casserole In Spicy Tomato With Kaffir Leaf Pilaf and Pot Roasted Chicken With Almond & Olive Pilaf.

It's A Family Thang

Try to figure out what this is...hah! Shepherd's Pie @ Swensen's (Thomson Plaza, http://www.swensens.com.sg/). My family had a craving for fish and chips so we landed up at our all-time, value-for-money family place at Thomson Road over the weekend. My dad, being the rebel that he is, decided to go English on us and dug into the local version of the potato-meat combo and soup. Dinner was nothing fancy, just wholesome tastes which brought back many Swensen's memories for us kids. Years ago, we used to end off with Coit Tower, Firehouse Happy Birthday and Banana Split. Times have changed as everyone's watching their sugar intake, and I've grown accustomed to a low-sugar, no-lactose, no-dairy diet. So only my mum polished her tall sundae glass of ice-cream, whipped cream, heavy chocolate fudge and cherries...Sigh...When I was young I listened to the radio, waiting for my favourite song...When it played I'd sing along, it made me smile.