A celebration (food tasting trail again!)

Sometime last week was GT's birthday. So we decided to go for a celebration.

Where celebrations are involved, we always think of where to eat. That's the first thing that always come naturally to mind.

Hence, first stop:
We decided to check out the fairly newly open ramen place in Mandarin Hotel -- it's called Ippudo.



The other day when we were checking out the new shops in Mandarin Gallery, we saw a queue forming outside the eatery so both GT and I decided that we've got to check it out.

This is what we had for starters -- the usual gyoza and an interesting mixed platter of accompaniments (you are meant to pair and eat with your ramen.)


The gyozas were really tiny compared to the ones we had at other places but it's quite tasty and were piping hot. The interesting item was the black fungus (the pile of black at the right of the square plate) -- it was very well-marinated. I have never come around this dish.



This is the ramen I had. Ippudo has 3 versions of stock -- a light version, a more flavorsome version (this is the one I ordered above) and a spicy one.

GT had the spicy one and we both somehow felt it has the odd taste of the Chinese Nan Ru (the pinkish fermented bean curd) if you know what we are referring to.


Second stop:
For dinner, we then headed off to this store that I've always wanted to try out. It's called Everything with Fries.

It has a pretty minimalist decor and is always packed.

I suppose it's a very Singaporean or foodie thing right? You see a long queue outside an eatery that you have never been to and the next thing, you start planning your next trip to the vicinity so that you can drop in to suss out the place and its food?

Anyway, I wasn't very hungry then so I just ordered a one-egg soup.



GT and his friend ordered proper mains -- a beef stew and a lamb burger. And of course, as the shop name implies; these dishes came with huge sides of fries!





Were we impressed with the quality of the food? We thought they are just fair.


Final stop:
Anyways, we headed to Obolo next door for desserts instead. GT figured that he's too old for a birthday cake and song gig so we just did a macaroons platter.

But back home, I had a little surprise for him...

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New Indonesian eatery visit

For those of you here for my knitterly updates, do check out the blog entry I posted here!

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The rest of this entry is all about an eatery I visited recently.

If you are a fan of Indonesian food in Singapore, you would have been aware that Sanur is no longer around. In its place, there is a new eatery called Pepes located at level 4 of Takashimaya.

GT and I decided to give the eatery a try while shopping at Takashimaya the other day. We went to the mall as I wanted to visit Kinokuniya Bookstore to check out the latest knitting magazines (what else?).

Our dinner order consisted of the following:

Tauhu Telor

Instead of the usual round shape, this one comes in a square. And the outer layer is extremely crispy as it was served piping hot. The chef does a light-handed drizzle of the sweet sauce so if you like it, so ask for a small serving of the sauce.

Beef Rendang

(Pardon the stains around the bowl. GT was almost digging into it when he realized that I wanted to take a photo.) This is the moist version with some gravy. This is fork tender and they have made efforts to remove most of the tendons.

Ayam Pop

This is a new dish -- we have never seen it on Sanur's menu previously. But the idea of steamed chicken with garlic is very appetizing. And the stir-fried chopped shallots and chillies add much oomph to the dish.

My only grouse? I wish that there is some gravy or broth as the chicken meat gets a little dry when you leave it out for 10 - 15mins on the table. Oh, and this dish reminds me of my favorite "aglio olio" -- italian pasta in olive oil and garlic. I might attempt to cook a version of this dish someday!

Avocado drink

This is my must-order whenever it's available on the menu. This eatery does a thick slurpy creamy version here.
In conclusion, both GT and I find that the meal is quite good, although we wished the portions are little bigger. The staff pretty attentive (it was a weekday evening). So we might come back sometime again.

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Experimental cookie baking

I know this is a knitting/crochet blog but at the moment, the *garter* thing is growing very slowly; that I wouldn't even calling it "inching".

So I would talk about my recent baking exeperience instead.

Back during the Lunar New Year weekend, I dived into baking. It's not the usual Chinese New Year goodies baking such as pineapple tarts or kuehs -- I am really an amateur where baking is concerned. But I just wanted to bake.

Hence, I used the easiest butter cookie recipe I can find. And just the pipette that I bought sometime back.
 

And it was pretty fun although I could use much more practice as the results are just so wonky.

Perhaps catching up with my knitting and crochet can provide me with the much needed piping squeezing strength?

Or is it just because I was too ambitious for my first attempt as the cookies are really bite-sized morsels that I intended for my 4yo niece?

I didn't realize that using the pipette would result in these cookies having dents in the back. I mean, wouldn't the cookie mixture melt and fill the gaps duing the baking process?

And I managed to make around 200 cookie minis -- I had to bake them in several batches as I have a countertop oven.

Does anyone have a good brand to recommend?

On closer inspection of the cookies, I noticed this one piece -- see the lovely heart shape? I wish I can say I intentionally piped it but alas, this is not the case.

And so, it was gifted to GT as part of the Valentine's Day wishes.

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