Foodie Paradise

The first time I started taking photographs of food was probably when I was in Taiwan for my holidays more than a year ago. It was also my first time discovering the power of digital cameras. And so off I went snapping happily at everything I saw. Many photos, I had to admit, turned out pretty disastrously. To further prove my amateurish skills with the camera, I took the photos at such low resolution that I cannot develop some of the really nice ones when I came back to Singapore.

I definitely think my photography skills have improved since then. Well…perhaps, since every time I looked at those photos that I’d taken on my computer, the number of shaky ones always proves to be more than those that turned out nicely. =\

This sudden inspiration to “exhibit” the first photos of food that I had taken came when I randomly came across this blog on travelling in Taiwan. This lovely blog reminded me so much about my holiday back in Taiwan! How I wish I’m back in Taiwan again this hols.

The food that left the deepest memory in me was 臭豆腐. I ate my first 臭豆腐 the first day I touched down at Taipei. Funnily, I never felt that they were smelly when I was eating them. (My mum was actually standing one foot away from me when I was eating them.) In fact, I quite like eating 臭豆腐. However, few days later, when I was at some of their famous street markets, I walked past food stalls emitting this really terrible stench, only to be told by my mum in an incredulous expression that those “stench” were from what I ate few days before. Well….

Thus with such fond memories of my travel in Taiwan, and also since it’s the first place where I started taking photos of food, I finally picked out some photos that I feel are passable to be shown on this blog, after looking through the big database of photos on my Taiwan trip (about 200 of them??).

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The log cake is always the best dessert for Christmas.

This year, the log cake for the Christmas dinner was from Angie the Choice. The chocolate in the cake was not thick enough. Basically, it tastes very normal, and definitely not very worth its price. I didn’t really enjoy my log cake this year very much. However, the good thing about it is that there’s home delivery for the cakes ordered from Angie the Choice during this festive season. Thus there is no hussle to try to arrange a time to pick the cake up or who to be “arrowed” to go and collect the cake.

Last but not least, Merry Christmas to everyone!

Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant
Key Point
371 Beach Road
#01-18
Tel: 6223 4588 or 6538 2282

Ratings: 4.5/5.0

It was my Dad’s birthday last weekend. On my mum’s friend’s recommendation, we decided to celebrate his birthday at Mong Hing. I wasn’t sure if I should call to make a reservation or not, but luckily I did, because the restaurant was really full after 7 o’clock.

Some of the dishes that we ordered:

Roe Cold Crab - It tastes lovely, but I guess my favourite crab dish is still our local chilli crab. =P

House of Mong Hing Goose Meat - It was my first time trying goose meat. It was better than what I’ve thought it’ll taste like!

Pan Fried Fresh Oyster Egg - a definite must try, and it definitely worth its value at $10. The oysters are pretty fresh and there’re just so many of them.

Braised Cucumber with Fish Maw

Mong Hing Special Noodles

Fried He Fen With Mixed Meat

Sweet Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts and Pumpkin - I was a bit disappointed with the desert. Perhaps after tasting such delicious main courses, I was beginning to set a pretty high expectation for the desert.

On the whole, the food was fantastic. It’s definitely one of the best chinese restaurants that I’ve patronised, and the food is very reasonably priced. The bill came out to be about S$30 per person. If you prefer the flavour of the food to be light and not too heavy, this is definitely the restaurant to go.

Sun and Moon Japanese Dining Cafe
Wheelock Place Level Three

Rating: 3.5/5.0

I guess I do have a penchant for shopping near Wheelock Place somehow. Probably it’s that big Zara boutique, Borders, Marks and Spencer, and many other shops that are drawing me so often to the place. After blowing my bank account on some books at Borders and on two pairs of pink shoes (I’m shock personally by my recent taste for things in pink), I had my desert fix at the newly opened Sun and Moon Japanese Dining Cafe.

Fujiyama - Fuji Mountain Shaved Ice

I was shocked to see the size of desert. I wasn’t expecting it to be so huge in size. It’s something like the local Ice Kachang, except this time round, the ingredients in it is dumpling, red bean and mango. What I love most about this desert the lovely green tea taste it had, which gave a refreshing feel to it.

Kurogoma Shiruko - Hot Dumpling in Red Bean and Sesame Soup

Another lovely desert, with dumpling, sweet potato and red bean. I like the sesame paste, which is thick in texture and not too sweet.

Tofu Cheese Cake

I was mildly captivated by the lovely presentation of the tofu cheese cake and it tasted as delicious as it looks. My only grouse about it is that the portion is really small for $5.

On the whole, I love the decour of the restaurant, except the air-conditioning was really freezing. The menu is very limited, serving mainly only deserts. I suppose I might stop over the place again if I’m thinking of having my desert fix, but I suppose at Wheelock place, there are better restaurants serving delicious deserts like NYDC. Nevertheless, it’s nice to have a change from the usual ice-creams and cakes occasionally.

Muar is a town in the state of Johor in Malaysia which is renown for its delicious and inexpensive food. I visited this small town in my recent weekend getaway. It’s not a surprise that I actually put on weight after this short weekend trip!

To get to Muar from Singapore, take bus 170 until its terminal at Lankin in Johor. At the bus terminal in Lankin, cheap bus tickets to various parts of Malaysia can be bought from the numerous booths. The tickets that I bought for my three hours bus ride to Muar cost about RM11. However, at such cheap rates, do not expect a nice and comfortable journey. The coaches are ok, but beware of faulty air-conditioning and rickety seats.

There are two streets in Muar that are more famous for its local food, namely Jalan Haji Abu and Jalan Sulaiman. I will especially recommend the food stalls along Jalan Haji Abu (and also the more famous one among the two). Nevertheless, most food stalls that you may passed along the way also sell pretty decent food, thus there’s no need to confine your meals along these two streets alone.

On the whole, the food is delicious, definitely well above the average standards that you can usually savour in Singapore, though not as fantastic as I had hoped it will be. If you don’t mind eating by the roadside, or buying from street hawkers, Muar is a decent place to visit if you feel like planning something different for the weekend. However, there’s nothing much to see or do as a tourist in Muar, so probably a day trip or a short weekend trip will do for the town.

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