>The White Rabbit
>
One bright and sunny Sunday morning, a little boy and a little girl whisked past a pretty green field in Dempsey Hill. There they found a white rabbit hole and stumbled upon
THE WHITE RABBIT. The two little children found this place very interesting as it was housed in an old chapel. Without thinking, they climbed into the rabbit’s burrow and there they found wonderful and delicious brunches for their hungry little stomachs that day !
A little fairy tale start for a quaint restaurant with a name that’s close to that! Indeed. We went to
THE WHITE RABBIT for a good Sunday brunch that morning. Look what we had below! The food was not that expensive and were pretty refreshing in our opinion.
1. Rustic Old English Breakfast – English “Fry Up” for 2 @ $20.00 per pax
The warm eggs were interestingly served in a mini cast iron skillet. The salads were fresh with mushrooms and tomatoes served alongside. There were 4 toasted bread slices per pax but I think the serving is a little small if you are hungry! Nevertheless we have to make do with that. The bacon slices were nicely cooked and not hard but found them a little cold. The eggs were the best!
2. Yoghurt and Fruit Bowl to share @ $14.00
This one is a sweet starter and a real pleaser! Fresh and it came served with gooseberry, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, pears and many real goodness topped with yoghurt, of course! We both enjoyed it lots!
Only regret is that the food on the menu are pretty limited. Hope they increase the food selections there. Apart from that, its a thumbs up! A lovely lazy brunch set in a old chapel with a nice quiet ambience….
THE WHITE RABBIT is at 39C Harding Road, Singapore 249541 Tel: 6473 9965.
>Singapore General Election 2011
>Good morning! It’s Polling Day today! Have you had your breakfast and voted yet?
May Singapore find good leaders to serve our country and may the best man win!
We the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of race, language or religion
To build a democratic society
Based on justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness, prosperity
And progress for our nation
>Halia Restaurant
>
Was kept busy from start of the year with springcleaning, then it was Chinese New Year and now its almost the end of the first quarter of Year 2011!! How time flies! How has the year been for you so far??
For us, we started the year on a very healthy note. I didnt a chance to post this earlier but we had visited
Halia Restaurant @
Singapore Botanic Gardens for a great start to Year 2011! The
Halia Restaurant serves local and western fare in the day and offers a continental menu for night dining. The restaurant also have specially created Ginger dishes, being located in the Ginger Gardens. Back to my account of my brunch at the Botanic Gardens Halia Restaurant on the brand New Year 2011 morning, all I could say is real goodness and delightful !! The Halia Restaurant as its name is called in Malay means “Ginger Restaurant”. Not that it serves Ginger but that its located in the 1-hectare Ginger Garden, hence its restaurant name.
We were introduced to the special Chef menu – which was braised beef bread bowl that New Year morning. I would love to try it, if not that I am trying to take less of beef now.! Instead, I searched the menu and ordered the Stripped Bacon served with Egg Boulaise, Spinach, Grilled Tomato, Brown Mushrooms on Bread (@ $22). Ted chose the Kurobuta and Portobello Mushroom Burger (@ $20). Both were wonderfully delicious. See our delicious evidences below …
My choice of Stripped Bacon served with Egg Boulaise, Spinach,
Grilled Tomato, Brown Mushrooms on Bread
This came like a piece of art, the ingredients stacked nicely on top of each other. I almost couldnt bear to eat it. It was very fresh and delicious. My stripped bacon was cooked just nicely and not a tad bit of hardness. One bite into the bread could fill you with so much healthy goodness of everything – including spinach, egg, tomato and mushrooms all in one mouthful ! Its simply wonderful!
(Black Pig) Kurobuta-Mushroom Burger
Ted’s choice was a great balance of soft Kurobuta (in Japanese, this means “black pig pork”) patty and fresh portobello mushroom. Served with a specially made japanese-western-mix sauce (tastes like apple puree to me!), the pork patty exudes sweetness with a soft touch. Eaten with the portobello, the taste is one of softness mix with juicy goodness. It was a real delight!!
I would recommend a thumbs up for a delicious breakfast at memorable Halia Gardens! Great meals which does not fail to please. The environment is comfortable and absolutely delightful dining in the midst of the Gardens. Halia Restaurant is located at 1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden (enter via Tyersall Avenue), Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore 259569 Tel: 6476 6711.
Raffles Hotel Courtyard
Happy New Year 2011!! Strawberry Moments wishes everyone a healthy, delicious and sumptuous new year filled with abundance and joy!
Ted and me had a wonderful string of celebrations with family and friends from Xmas in December 2010 right till New Year’s Day in January 2011!! And we really cant believe that all this happy feasting is coming to a close. We also cant wait to share with everyone about our delicious ordeals this festive season, which had probably added a few pounds extra on us now… But hey, all those extra calories can wait ! We only have one year end, right? And its just the most wonderful time of the year to make merry and feast with our loved ones and friends??? So what the heck, just pig out first !
We believe with all this wonderful feasting this one month, we will definitely have more, more and lots more great abundance in the coming year 2011. We also pray and wish everyone, like us will have good health and great abundance in this coming new year too!! Cheers to a brand new year 2011 !!
Complimentary bread served to us before our order came
To recount, our Eve of Xmas Eve was spent at
Raffles Hotel Courtyard. This place is now serving the finest ocean-fresh seafood selections prepared à la minute in light Mediterranean flavours typical of the French Riviera, such as the Courtyard Bouillabaisse with Maine Lobster, Red Grouper, Black Cod, Black Mussels, Saffron and Provençal herbs.
I really enjoyed my evening there. There was not that many choices on the menu and this two caught our eyes. I ordered the Black Cod Fish main served with tomato puree, comes with beehoon (@ $50), while Ted had the meal of the night – Singapore Fresh Chilli Crab, comes with beehoon ($10/kg est @ $80) !
Fresh Seafood Tank
Freshness is the key word here. I recalled seeing the chef catching the crab from the tank and cooking it right at the counter!! What a shock!
Black Cod Fish with tomato puree
My Black Cod Fish probably wasnt caught live but it was definitely fresh and the dish was cooked with very creamy cheese, complementing very well with the tomato puree. Served with the local beehoon and squeezed with a pinch of lime, the overall effect is tantalising !! Western meets Asian, that’s what I would call the dish !
Singapore Chilli Crab with beehoon
The Singapore Chilli Crab was pretty Asian and really Singaporean, in my opinion (if you know what I mean). The dish also came served with 2 pieces of the local bun, (or called “man-tou” locally, one piece steamed and the other fried) which is best to be quickly eaten while its hot, dipped into the chilli crab gravy. We could savour the freshness of the crab. Its meat was firm, superbly tasty and sweet! It was wonderful and definitely a great taste!! (Personally, I prefer the cod fish better as the chilli crab can also be found at the East Coast seafood restaurants)
Whats more, there was a surprise choir (see left picture) that came and serenaded everyone at the Courtyard with Xmas Carols into the night… The atmosphere was just perfect and heavenly! We could feel so much for Xmas that peaceful evening. It was a great way to soak into the Xmas atmosphere …. Even now I am missing it …
Last visit to the Former Singapore Supreme Court
I am posting this a month late. I had visited the Former Singapore Supreme Court on 17 Oct 10. The last day from which it will be closed to all for entry. This was also the day where the places were opened to the public with a public guided tour the whole day to let the public take a last look at this solemn building of our country’s justice and strength. The Former Supreme Court will be taken down and the City Hall building will also be refurbished from this day forth (18 Oct 10) and when it reopens later, this place will become a National Art Gallery Museum for the public. Feeling patriotic, I thought I had to at least make it there to capture some shots of this special place as part of my memory lane next time. So here they are just some snippets of the place for everyone to remember by in future… enjoy!
Old Airport Road Hwa Famous Hougang Wan Ton Mee
If you like wanton mee reminiscing the old good days, you won’t want to miss this “Hua Kee Hougang Famous Wan Ton Mee” stall at Old Airport Road. Found this stall with a long snake queue of people that evening. The front of the stall was adorned with newspaper cuttings and accolades like great food ratings for the wanton mee and TV recommended awards etc and such.
Believe the sauce and the cooking oil used in the wanton mee made it sooo very delicious. The stall claims that it uses a traditional recipe of sauce. No wonder the mee tastes so special and nice. Probably that’s also why I felt like the wanton mee seems like a long lost friend to me. The taste was so unforgettable. It was a flavour that I had lost for many years, just like what I ate before when I was young … simply nostalgic!
The noodles are chewy, fried wanton is crispy and charsiew well barbequed. So good, I really cant complain. Do note that there are also many wanton mee stall in the food centre claiming to be the Old Airport Food Centre famous wanton mee. This one is really good and well worth the money – @ $3.00 per bowl! Try it and see!
Personal Taste 个人取向 Korean Drama Channel U Private Screening
August 29, 2010, 5:06 pm
Filed under:
Boys Over Flowers,
channel U,
Jeremy,
Korean drama,
Lee Min Ho,
Lee Teng,
Personal Taste,
Scape Park,
Sun Ye Jin I was really excited! I was invited to attend the Channel U “Personal Taste” Private Screening on 28 August 2010 at the *Scape Park. Just cant wait to see my favourite Korean Kimchi heartthrob Lee Min Ho again! Finally his new drama its here on Singapore TV, about 9 months wait after the hit “Boys Over Flowers” Korean drama serial! Hooray!!
I was about 15 minutes late for my special appointment that afternoon, unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances. Ted and me had to run and rushed up to Level 5 of *Scape Park where the screening was held. Never mind about that but let me quickly recap just what happened yesterday. When we reached, the kind lady staff quickly took our attendance and whisked us in without further ado after putting a stamp each on our hands as entry identification. We were also given a free goodie bag too (containing a “Personal Taste” poster and a notebook – so nice!) Look what we got!
 |
| Lovely “Personal Taste” Private Screening door gifts |
Not going to miss out anything, I quickly grabbed my seat. 4 of the audience were already playing some games in front with the hosts that evening, who happened to be famous Channel 8 TV hosts – Lee Teng and Jeremy. It was a game where 4 female fans of the Korean heartthrob were asked what they were to do if they meet with Lee Min Ho. There was a moment of excitement. You mean Min Ho is here?
 |
| Look who is here? |
Suddenly the audience was excited. Jeremy disappeared to the back of the “Personal Taste” drama advertisement board. Lee Teng asked who could be at the back of the board. Suddenly, “Lee Min Ho” appeared !! Jeremy was carrying a fan wearing an image of “Min Ho” on the mask to everyone’s surprise. The gesture made the audience laughed uncontrollably. As someone in the audience put it aptly, this must be the short version of “Lee Min Ho”!! More laughter.
 |
| Meeting “Lee Min Ho” |
The 4 fans were asked to say what they would do if they were to meet Min Ho and so they spoke words of admiration and love for their Korean idol Lee Min Ho and each also got to take a candid photo with “Min Ho” posed by Jeremy!! ‘Min Ho’ was sooo funny!!
 |
| Lucky fans posing with “Lee Min Ho” |
The audience was just not getting enough of Min Ho after this. Finally Lee Teng and Jeremy said the magic words – and the screening of the new drama started, to everyone’s delight! Let the show begin.
 |
| “Personal Taste” drama begins |
Ted and me relaxed in our seats. The drama was projected on the big white screen in front. There were also 2 LCD TVs aptly located in the front for the fans that evening.
 |
| Screenshots of “Personal Taste” Korean drama |
We were treated to an episode of the Korean drama “Personal Taste”. Starring handsome doe-eyed Korean heartthrob LEE Min-Ho and the pretty SUN Ye-Jin, the ghizz of the episode of the drama revolves around an architect, Jeon Jin Ho (played by LEE Min-Ho) and the daughter of a famous furniture designer, Pak Kae In (played by SUN Ye-Jin). There were many misadventures between the two lead characters causing many funny misunderstandings between the two of them.
A fateful encounter between the two lead both fighting to chase after a cab to rush to a convention centre and consequently ended up with both taking the same bus after the cab went off, started this whole captivating plot. Jin Ho, the architect was rushing to the Convention Centre and carrying a model of the future Art Centre in his hands on the bus, and with Kae In also on the same bus after both failed to chase after a same cab earlier. The bus braked and Kae In almost fell on Jin Ho’s laps but as part of his quick reaction to protect his wooden model, he groped at Kae In’s butt to prevent her from sitting and destroying his hardwork!! A beautiful misunderstanding that got both of them acquainted with each other but all on the wrong footing.
Many funny encounters and twists between the two lead unfolds later in the episode, with the manly Jin Ho being misunderstood as a gay and many more creative twists to the plot. (Wont spill the beans anymore here. Watch it yourself !) The episode ended with suspense to the upcoming plot. So much said, I really cant wait for the continuing episode of the drama, thinking about it now…
 |
| Hosts Lee Teng and Jeremy |
After the episode ended, Lee Teng and Jeremy appeared in front of the audience again. More excitement awaits. The hosts played some more games to the audience’s delight. A few questions were threw to the floor regarding the drama and the lucky audience got to win shopping vouchers.
 |
| Choose me, choose me |
Then there was a second game where Jeremy thew a ball to the audience crowd to pick a lucky audience who gets to pose in the “Personal Taste” drama board and after that, she gets to win an autographed poster by Lee Min Ho. 3 lucky female fans got the special prize!! What an envy!
 |
| “Hey how do i look?” Jeremy posing in the drama board |
 |
| Lucky audience picked to pose |
Finally the session came to an end. Hosts Lee Teng and Jeremy thanked everyone and hope everyone will continue to support and catch the new upcoming Korean drama “Personal Taste” which will be debuting on Channel U from 4 September 2010.
I will very busy from September again. (Just like the Channel U “I am busy” tagline) Am definitely not going to miss “Personal Taste”! Got be at home on Saturday nights to catch my favourite Korean drama again! So don’t miss it – the new Korean drama “Personal Taste” starring LEE Min-Ho and SUN Ye-Jin on Channel U every Saturday night at 930pm starting from 4 September 2010 !!!
Ju Bao Hong Kong Cuisine
Found this hidden delight in the heartland of Kovan on one hungry night, while we were driving around Lim Tua Tow Road. Along the stretch of road at Teck Chye Terrace, there is a row of eateries and we thought we might be able to find some good food there. True enough!
The restaurant we found this time was called “
Ju Bao Hong Kong Cuisine“. Understand that the head chef used to hail from
Lei Garden Restaurant and outside the restaurant, there were also clippings of it being featured on the Channel 8 TV program “HDB Tai-Tai” so it must be something good.
It was not particularly crowded when we went there that night. We saw that there was a special menu – fresh seafood going for very special prices from $5.50 to even $30+ for lobster dishes! There was also a set menu for groups of more than 4 person which were at very reasonable prices.
For the two of us, Ted and me had to order a-la-carte. We took the fried prawn balls @ $6.80 (see above photo), and
steamed minced pork with salted fish @ $8,
garlic fried Hong Kong kai-lan @ $8
and fresh bamboo clams @ $5.50. All simple dishes but they were very fresh and definitely cooked with very good “wok-hei”. Especially the fried prawn balls. Crispy and very crunchy. Like those served in famous restaurants. The taste of the steamed minced pork with salted fish was also very good. Not too salty and just nice. The Hong Kong kai-lan does not have any bitterness in it and cooked very skilfully under strong fire as can be deduced from the strong “wok-hei”. It was a really delicious meal at such a great price!! See what we ate!
Complete the meal with the chinese tea at $0.80 per head. Or you can also choose the chrysanthemum tea (prepared by the restaurant themselves) at $1 per head. There you have it, a nice warm simple yet delicious and unforgettable Cantonese cuisine with no GST nor service charge. In total, we spent about $32 but were all happily satisfied.
The friendly Hong Kong chef said thanks and goodbye to us when we left. We are sure we will go back again for the good food served at great price. We also vowed to go out and spread the word around for the restaurant. Try it yourself too!
Ju Bao Hong Hong Cuisine is at 19 Teck Chye Terrace, Singapore 545725 Tel: 6280-2208 / 6280-0380.
Food for Thought
Found this lovely eatery around busy Bras Basah Road while downtown. This place was started by a group of friends as another of their attempt at a social enterprise and boasts of serving some great comfort food to make people happy with a good cause of devoting 10% of their profit towards their noble areas of interest:
1. Support Clean Water
2. Feed Good Food
3. Help End Poverty
4. Educate the People and
5. Encourage Good Acts.
Very nice people or so and we thought they deserve a visit ….
In we went. Ted and me. This was our first visit. Not knowing what to order. We browsed the menu that was placed on the table. We understand later that we had to place our orders at the counter. The chef specials and other recommended items/set specials were written on the chalkboards hung on the walls behind the order counter. Free clean water was served at the counter (DIY) but a small donation would be nice to be placed into the piggy bank there with this proceed to be contributed towards the Support Clean Water Funds. Not very sure how the funds gets there though.
We stood at the counter for a while comtemplating what to order. Finally I decided upon the combo sets which were like “half-and-half” sets comprising of a sandwich served in half its normal size, add on with another side order of either your choice of the salad or soup. There are 3 sandwich categories: the House, Special or Premium which consists of different types of sandwiches under each category. Details of their menu can be found at their website. The House seems the likes of the usual roasted chicken breast, pork sausages or vegetarian sandwiches. The Special Sandwiches seem inclined towards the local flavour – which are the roasted pulled pork, spicy braised pork (something like the local “kong bak pao” – braised pork buns in Hokkien) and roasted beef striploin flavours. The Premium ones definitely have to be the best and consists of cuban ham and pulled pork.
My Slow Roasted Pulled Pork Special Combo Set served with
Bacon, Potato and Baked Onion Salad
I found the Special Sandwiches really something pretty local and interesting so I went for the slow roasted pulled pork special combo set (at S$11.90) with sweet potatoes. I also got to choose the Soup or a Salad similarly under the Special categories. I took the Bacon, Potato and Baked Onion Special Salad to complete my set order. It came wonderful and did not disappoint. (See above photo) I especially liked the bread which was soft and warm. The pulled pork slices were just nicely pulled to fit every mouthful you take and the flavour is quite local as I expected it be but blended with a nice mix of western bread. Lovely. The salad was peppered black vinegar and there were roasted potatoes with bacon and nicely baked soft onion slices. Nice.
Ted’s Delicious Shiitake Mushroom Pasta
Ted found his favourite Shiitake Mushroom Pasta (at S$13.90) and wasted no time digging in the minute it was served. A heavenly creation too. Look at what we had above.
We were two very satisfied person though Ted thought he still has stomach for more. I thought it was a good hearty meal for me. We did not burn any holes in our pockets at about S$25.80 plus 7% GST totalling to about S$28 for 2 person. We were sure we will be back for some nice bread and pasta there again. Good food for a good cause. Definitely.
Food for Thought we visited was located at 420 North Bridge Road, North Bridge Centre #01-06, Singapore. Tel: 6338 8724. They have another outlet at 8 Queen Street, Singapore.
Marina Bay Sands Singapore
May 11, 2010, 7:24 am
Filed under:
Bayfront Avenue,
casino,
entertainment destination in Asia,
first fan meeting in singapore,
floating canal,
Las Vegas Sands Corp,
Marina Bay Sands,
Sands Skypark,
Singapore river Squeezed to join the crowd at the newly opened Marina Bay Sands, Singapore over the weekends. The Sands was opened on April 27, 2010 Tuesday at the fengshui auspicious time of 15:18 hrs. Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon G. Adelson and other company officials had flown in and officiated the opening of the Marina Bay Sands, the most ambitious and architecturally-stunning leisure and convention facility ever built. Enthusiastic guests and excited gamblers spilt all over the new hotel and convention centre when the celebratory ribbon was cut.
Marina Bay Sands will open progressively over the course of the year, with the first phase including 963 hotel rooms, parts of the shopping mall and convention center, some restaurants and bars, the Event Plaza along Marina Bay, and the casino. On June 23, during the official grand opening celebration, the remainder of the property’s 2,560 guest rooms, more shops from the world’s leading retailers, additional dining options, and exciting nightlife offerings, will open. The Sands SkyPark, which sits 60 stories off the ground and is perched atop the property’s three hotel towers, will also debut on June 23.
The hotel had received rave comments about the place and its service as a whole that day. Despite a recent hiccup over electricity being cut off at one of the meetings, I thought I still need to see it for myself.
The building is indeed a beauty by itself. And architecturally challenging I believe too. Within the hotel itself, there are public art collection and artefacts beautifully decorating its interior. The ambience is really nice but I think the place is not fully ready yet as there were still minor renovation works with signs here and there around the hotel and convention centre which does not appear too sightly. There are quite a few storeys of shopping at the mall. Quite of the shops in the mall were not opened yet but I believe it will be a pleasing shopping experience when they are all fully opened.
On the third floor of the shopping mall, walking outside of the mall at one point, we had a real nice night view of the Singapore River. It was an amazing view! I dont think anywhere else in Singapore can we find this view. Its really beautiful!
My impression of the place was definitely one of praise. There were nice restaurants, pubs and even thoughtful small local delight cafes lining the mall for those who do not want to dig into their pockets. Though I did not step into the Casino yet that evening, I could already feel all the excitement building up at the Sands.
When its fully open, I shall visit this place again. I understand there will be a floating canal in the mall too and I look forward to visit the Sands living up to its expectations to become the leading business, leisure and entertainment destination in Asia. Some info on the Casino to share:
CASINO ENTRY LEVY*
*Casino entry levy is payable only by Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Foreigners should carry a valid passport. Casino patrons must be 21 years old or above. Other rules and regulations apply. Levy can be paid online from Tuesday 27th April, at AXS machines or at on-site kiosks.
HOW TO GET THERE
TO SINGAPORE
By Air from Changi Airport
Marina Bay Sands Airport Shuttle Bus* (24-hr service from all terminals), or Taxi.
By Coach from Malaysia
Our coach partners include Compass Coaches, First Coach, Gunung Raya, Luxury Tours and Travel, and Super Nice Express. (Click here for more information)
WITHIN SINGAPORE
Public transport is recommended as parking may be limited during peak hours. Costs about $8 per hour for parking. For detailed information on Transportation click here
TAXI
Take taxi to one of the four designated drop-off points at Marina Bay Sands.
PUBLIC BUS
Take bus number 97, 97e, 106, 133, 502 or 518.
MRT
NORTH SOUTH LINE – Exit at Marina Bay MRT Station and board the public bus* outside the station.
NORTH SOUTH LINE – Exit at Raffles Place MRT Station and board the public bus (SBS 97) at the bus stop opposite Oglivy Centre along Robinson Road or at the bus stop in front of The Sail along Marina Boulevard
CIRCLE LINE – Exit at Promenade MRT Station and take a 10-minute walk to Bayfront Avenue or board the public bus* outside the station on Temasek Avenue
*Casino entry levy is payable only by Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Foreigners should carry a valid passport. Casino patrons must be 21 years old or above. Other rules and regulations apply. Levy can be paid online from Tuesday 27th April, at AXS machines or at on-site kiosks.
Strawberry Moments 