Bz Mommy

We have great parents and in-laws who took care of our 2 girls and thus we had a peaceful anniversary dinner. Seriously, these help from parents really did wonder to us. I know we are fortunate.

And the place for the dinner?  The place which both of us enjoy…alot.  This time we went to the one @ Holland Village.

Dear chose the Sakura Set…it’s going to hurt the pocket, but I know he wants the best for me.  That’s how sweet he is.

The Kim-Chee.  Quite nice even though I am not a Kim Chee person.

Our salad that comes with mushroom and fried garlic.  Yummy!

The Aburi Bacon before they were cooked:

The meat : (from top left to the right) Wagyu Karubi, Pork Belly (changed from Duck Breast), Wagyu Fillet Steak, Wagyu Rump Cap & Pork Collar.

The Ishiyaki Mentaiko :

Cooking the meat…

And I am a fortunate woman because he always cook for me. :-p

My plate of yummy meat with the sauces.  We both like the sweet sauce than the spicy one.

And the very sinful bacon…

Assorted Mushroom…should have changed to fresh Shitake mushroom though.  The ones grilled by hubby are the best!

The Gindara Miso Grill…very fresh fish but the miso is too salt.

The Dessert menu..we usually do not look through it as there’s only one item we both like….

The Milk Pudding!

A very peaceful dinner, accompany by good service from the restaurant.  Had been to the branches in Chimjes and United Square, I kind of love the setting in Holland Village more than other branches.

With no agenda in mind, we took a walk around Holland Village and decided to go to MBS since both of us had not been to the bridge before.

The night scene is nice indeed.  I wonder how many Singaporeans appreciate this? When we went overseas, we will exclaim at the sight of those places, but some places have the same kind of night scene as what we have here in Singapore.

The Helix Bridge at night..

Quite a few of tourists were taking photos and we thought it be nice to have some photos too!

Dear is an expert in this after his training in Japan

And of ‘cos he also thinks that he’s the King and hence there’s a crown on his head…

We also managed to catch the Light & Water show (Wonder Full).  As this was the first time both of us came into the MBS shopping area, we didn’t know where is the Event Plaza…we just walked towards to where the music came from.

Very amazing event, given that it’s free.

I was very amazed by the “Towers” at the 2 sides of the gallery.  It can emit different kinds & colour of lights,  dry ice effect and even bubbles! All these from each tower! Amazing!

Will probably bring Dawn to view this next time!

It’s that season again and time to practice my skill.  Having to do it only once a year is really testing my memory on the steps.  I wonder how my mother-in-law does it?!

Getting ready the leaves….

The rice…

And the very nice fillings…

This is my branch of victory…succeed only after a few refreshers from my MIL.. :p

And this time round, we tied a red string over my work…so that I can see what to improve on after they are cooked.

Absolutely wrapped by me…

Dear commented that the rice are too thick at the corners, so I got to position them better next time.

I haven’t quite learn the roles of preparing the leaves, rice and fillings, but had made more notes this year than previous.  Soon I will combine all the notes and make the Bazhang myself one day!

P/S : Pardon me for the photos as they were taken using my phone..hands were too oily to take out the camera

Been wanted to try this long time ago but it’s always full or with a queue.  Finally had a chance when Dear and I went for our recent pahtoh @ Vivo.

Dear ordered the black sesame with beancurd. It’s so-so to me only.

I ordered the Durian with vanilla ice-cream in milk…NICE!

On a separate occasion, I brought my mom to the same dessert place @ 313 and I concluded to myself that their hot desserts are not nice.  Mom ordered the red bean with beancurd and it’s not to both our liking.

But their pan-cake is really nice! Ordered the mango pan-cake and it’s yummy!

Looking forward to more such desserts in our coming Hong Kong trip!

We noticed that the Skinny Pizza at Raffles City is always packed. And so we thought it must be something so nice that we have to try too!

The pizza are served in a big pan, the crust is thin and it has alot of vegetables on top of the pizza.  We do not quite like it as we still prefer the normal pizza. Furthermore, the pizza has to eat while it’s hot or it became soggy.  It’s quite challenging to have the pizza while it’s hot with a kid around.

We also order the mini burgers.  Though that Dawn will like it…

But the meat was overcooked…

I think we won’t visit this again.  The service is great, but the food is not worth the price.

Knowing that Junior 2 is making her appearance soon, we decided to finish up our unfinished businesses.  And one of it was to go for the  English Afternoon Tea at Shangri-La Hotel. 4 months ago we went to our afternoon tea at Goodwood Park Hotel, and I know Dear wants to try out the one in Shang.

And so we decided to go for the English Afternoon Tea after his Driving test.  The thought was, if he fail the test, it will be a consolation for him and if he pass, it’s a celebration!

And it’s a celebration!

Very nice setup at the table…and nice comfy sofa chairs.

Pretty tea sets! I think we should invest in a pretty tea set next time when our house is ready.

Sugar in individual packet..gave me a surprise when I open it..seldom see individual packed sugar.

We chose the English afternoon tea which comes with a choice of 1 tea or coffee. As usual, I chose the Chamomile Tea.

Our 3-tier arrives…yummy!

And of ‘cos I love the 1st tier the most.  I was actually craving for tuna recently…don’t know why, this Junior 2 really has a mind of her own.

Scones! Dear’s favourite! And I must say they are nice! This is the 1st scone that I commented nice as the rest I tasted elsewhere were too dry to my liking.  And these scones has a very nice buttery taste to it!

Didn’t quite like the sweets.  In fact, only like the custard puff. Dear likes the fruit cake.  The brownie is not to the standard and the tart is pineapple I think. Or maybe I am not a sweets person to begin with.

Very nice and peaceful afternoon.  But I was amazed with the table beside us.  There were 2 ladies, and they can finish everything from the 3-tier + a refill; which means 6 plates! :0  Amazing!

Yummy Yummy and it’s a peaceful Saturday morning.

Tried this new food out at Taka basement, where they sell okowa rice (which is steamed sticky glutinous rice with vegetables and/or meat, seafood.)

They have a variety of okowa rice, and I chose the unagi okowa rice. My set comes with a bowl of soba and chicken karaage.

Dear ordered Sansai okowa :

Maybe my tastebuds had changed due to pregnancy and I think the okowa rice is alittle too plain. It’s not like the chinese glutinous rice which is more fragrant. The chicken karaage is badly done and dear thinks the soba is over-cooked.

Lucky dear also order the Hijiki Itame (stir fried seaweed) and when it’s mixed together with my okowa rice, it tasted better.

Takashimaya Food Hall, #B204-1/2

Read about this ramen restaurant at Mandarin Gallery and it seems that alot of Japanese rated this well.  Definitely has to be one of the place that we must try!

Dear & I went Ippudo for lunch before my gynea appointment. It’s not very crowded given that it’s already 1.30pm.

Dear ordered the rice ball and specified to serve them after we are done with the noodles, but the waitress didn’t follow instructions. -.-

The rice balls were not nice, too soft for comfort and I think that the onigiri that we bought in Japan convenience store which cost only 105yen were much better than these!

Dear ordered the chashu ramen (Shiromaru Motoaji) :

And I order the ramen with pork belly (Shiromaru Chashu) :

Both of us think that Ippudo is somewhat over-rated. Or maybe we have tasted better ramen and hence we are more picky with the food.  I was very hungry before I ate the ramen and hence I know if I do not feel that it’s heavenly and satisfied , it means that the taste of the ramen is only so-so.

For the price of each bowl of ramen, both of us think that it’s not worth it.  A small little ramen shop at Akihabara serves much more delicious & worth ramen!

So will we go back again? No, we won’t.

Found out that Ootoya came to Singapore and I told Dear that we must try! Ootoya is a famous chain in Japan and I read that there are queues during meal times in Singapore.  Maybe everyone also want to try!

We went for lunch at Orchard Central.  Order a kid’s meal for Dawn, which consist of Udon soup and the croquette.  Dawn love the croquette with the salad sauce!

I ordered a chicken set with a sunny side up.

Dear ordered the pork grilled set and he said that his grilled set is much nicer than my chicken set, which I sort of agreed. I think they served pretty good grilled sets because the meat are grilled till soft and tender.

On a separate occasion, we bought my sis and bil to Ootoya too and this time, I order a croquette too!  It’s so nice that I kept wanted to have more.  Got to watch out my weight!  I think Junior 2 will love potatoes too because I craved for them!

I ordered the cold soba this time and it’s nice! Can’t really describe the difference but it’s just refreshing and doesn’t give you the irk feeling after finishing the soba.

Some more grilled meat…

I also ordered the sweet and sour pork and it’s NICE!

My BIL ordered the grilled chicken with salad and when Dawn saw it, she exclaimed “I want egg!” ><;

Rather Authentic taste for now, hope that their standard will not drop as time goes by…

OOTOYA

181 Orchard Road #08-12 Orchard Central Singapore

We have a voucher for a free set lunch at Prego due to OCBC credit card promotion and it’s going to expire end of Nov 2010.  As such, we decided to have a quiet Saturday lunch when Dawn is still at my mom’s place.

Dear chose the set lunch that cost $40 ++ and I took the free set lunch.

They served us a big bread with salsa sauce.

And the sauce is so nice that I finished them :p

I can’t get what the waitress called this soup as, but it’s very nice!  It taste like potato soup but I think it’s more than that.

My free set came with a starter and we chose the mushroom starter but I didn’t quite like it.  Maybe it’s cold and sour…

My set main dish, chicken breast meat…looks small on the big plate!

Dear’s main dish looks more delicious than mine.  The mash potato is nice, maybe because I like potatoes now..haha!

My pathetic fruit platter…

Dear’s desert – Panna Cotta.  Dear loves Panna Cotta and I promised that I will try making for him when we have our own house