The Salad Shop at UOB Plaza 2

Image from http://huiyuan89.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/img_2016.jpg

A third shop selling salad in the Raffles Place area is The Salad Shop at UOB Plaza 2. Its location is not very obvious, as it is at the back of the building facing the river. But all you have to do is to take the road in-between Standard Chartered building and UOB Plaza 2, towards the river, then turn left, and you're there.

SaladStop! at Chevron House

Image from http://www.saladstop.com.sg

Lots of salad bars have sprung up around Raffles Place, and the demand has definitely warranted the truckloads of fresh vegetables being delivered here everyday. SaladStop! is a player that has (I think) the most outlets around Singapore, and there are two just in the Raffles Place area. It is currently my favourite, just for offering the most bang for your buck.

Smoked Duck Surprise at The Green Bar

Image from http://sg.lifestyleasia.com/features/wine-and-dine/the-hit-list-best-salad-bars-in-singapore-8619/

I know, I know, I have not been posting anything in a long while, and I have got a valid excuse to tender: working late nights. Anyhow, when I was labouring in the office on those nights, ending up da pao-ing meals (doing takeaways), I also took shots of what I ate :)

Bugis St Chuen Chuen Chicken Rice, Longhouse Food Centre

On the third day of Chinese New Year after an afternoon of driving around visiting relatives, we were feeling slightly carsick and ill from the heat. As Longhouse Food Centre was on our way home, we stopped by to pick up some dinner. Having had rich dishes on the previous days like pen cai, and lots of Chinese New Year cookies, we just wanted something hot, and plain and simple.

Homecooked dinner: Cabbage and pork soup

Cabbage and ground pork meatballs soup

Dinner at Curry Gardenn

I love Indian food. The only problem is that mom does not, and therefore she does not cook it. To get my fix, I have to eat it outside, and it's not that often that I get to eat it outside either as I usually have dinner at home on weekdays and dinner with my parents on weekends. But one Saturday when my parents had a function, I took the opportunity to have an Indian dinner at Curry Gardenn with my aunt and uncle.

iHerb SingPost free shipping

If you did not already know, iHerb.com has teamed up with Singapore Post to offer shipping on all orders to Singapore. They say that it will take only 4-8 business days, and comes with a tracking number.

Singapore Post will deliver items of up to 8lb / 3628g, or of up to US$120. The pricing ladder is as follows:

- 1-2lb = US$6

- 3-4lb = US$8

- 5-6lb = US$9

- 7-8lb = US$10

Further, iHerb and Singapore Post are having a July Special whereby all orders over US$60 qualify for free shipping via Singapore Post, up to 31 July 2013.

Do note that the option to select shipping via Global Priority Mail has disappeared (which was a flat US$4 for orders from US$40 - US$80, and which weigh up to 4lb / 1814g). As such, you may want to take advantage of the above free shipping option before it expires this month!

If it is your first time ordering from iHerb.com, the coupon code "XOJ002" will save you US$5-$10 on your first order.

(Do remember to add to your cart your free bottle of Vitamin D3!)

Homecooked dinner: Prawns, kale

Prawns panfried with black bean sauce

Black sesame gelato

During the weekend, I had invited my aunt and uncle over for dinner, which called for some gelato / ice cream as dessert. Ever since my success with David Lebovitz's pistachio gelato, I had wanted to use the same receipe with a different nut or seed. As I love gooey black sesame, I decided to use the same receipe with roasted black sesame seeds.

Ines Rosales: Seville Orange Sweet Olive Oil Tortas

Ines Rosales' tortas are unique thin, light, crispy, flaky biscuits, that are covered with a sugar glaze and that go fantastically well with tea or coffee. Each torta had bits of crystallised orange on its surface, which provided a hint of orange with every bite. The slice of torta below is not actually burnt. The dark spots you see are the result of the olive oil and crystallised orange soaking through the biscuit.

Homecooked dinner: Kangkong, eggs

Garlic kangkong

Poulèt

Ever since I read that this new French place called Poulèt was serving up roast chicken French style, I have been wanting to try it out. I never got down to it as we rarely visit the places its restaurants are located, and have stopped visiting Great World City due to their S$1.70 per hour / S$3.63 per entry parking. Anyhow, my father dragged us to Bugis+ one Sunday with the aim of tempting us into having a Shabu-shabu dinner. But we ended up at Poulet!

Coconut oil spotting

Two new types of coconut oil for sale that I spotted at Thomson Plaza's NTUC Finest.  On the left is Melrose's Organic Coconut Oil. On the right is Simple Mill's Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oil that is also cold pressed and has "neutral flavour".

Guess what this is?

Homecooked dinner: Pork and black fungus, sambal green beans

Lean pork with black fungus

Dinner: Sashimi and other Japanese items

After a hard day's work, I decided to treat myself with some Japanese food. Generally, I prefer to da pao my sashimi etc because it is much cheaper than eating at Japanese restaurants. You may remember that Takashimaya's Cold Storage is one of my favourite places for taking away sashimi. As much as I would have preferred to get dinner from there that evening, NTUC Finest at TripleOne Somerset was nearer.

Homecooked dinner: Wombok soup, eggs

I wasn't very hungry, so dinner was just a big pot of wombok and carrot soup, and two eggs.

Xiang Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice

One hot weekend, we were just too lazy to go out for dinner. My father ended up packing back a packet of roast chicken and some chicken liver from Xiang Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice at Haig Road Market & Cooked Food Centre. 

What I bought from iHerb

Since some people asked me what on earth I bought from iHerb when I told them I had three DHL shipments, I thought I'd just share it with everyone at one shot. (Yes, three!)

Homecooked dinner: Pork rib soup

Pork rib soup with carrots and turnip

Nutiva's Coconut Manna

While iHerb was having its rare sale, I decided to order a jar of Nutiva's Coconut Manna to try, since many people have been saying that it is a cheaper version of Artisana's Coconut Butter. Not having had proper smooth coconut butter for more than six months, I was waiting eagerly for my DHL package to arrive.

Homecooked dinner: Mackeral, okra

Pan-fried mackeral

Nandos from City Square Mall, Johor Bahru

Even though we had da pau-ed (taken away) Kam Long's curry fishhead for dinner when we visited Johor Bahru, we could not resist getting some Nandos chicken as well. It stems from having lived in Australia for many years, and one year in particular living almost directly above a Nandos outlet. Further, how could we not get Nandos when it is much cheaper in Malaysia than Singapore!

n95 masks - availability

Picture from http://www.3m.com/

Hoping all readers affected by the haze in SE Asia are well and have managed to get hold of an n95 mask. On Friday morning when PSI levels in Singapore reached 400, I stepped out of the office to buy masks for my family, but the Guardians at Raffles Place and Raffles City were out-of-stock of all types of masks. NTUC Unity at Thomson Plaza had some stocks today, but not enough for the people queueing up (including myself).

Homecooked dinner: Laksa white clams, spinach

White clams cooked in laksa gravy

Ka-Soh Seafood Restaurant

Ka-Soh Seafood Restaurant is an old school zi char place that is famous for its milky fish soup and prawn paste chicken. Just like Tambuah Mas is the restaurant I had to visit before leaving Singapore for further studies and each time I returned, Ka-Soh is the same to my sister. When my sister was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at around 1am, mom even went to Ka-Soh in the evening to da pau (takeaway) food for her when she reached home!

Excalibur dehydrator

I have just updated my post on dehydrators in Singapore to include information on the Excalibur being sold at ToTT. Those are all of the brands and models of dehydrators in Singapore that I know of. Hope it helps!

Semi-homecooked dinner: Kangkong, pig offal

Sambal kangkong

Dehydrator update

In my comments to the Making apple chips with the Philips AirFryer post, I wrote that Tangs Orchard no longer stocks the Ezi Dry brand of dehydrators, but carries two other brands: Severin and Rommelsbacher. 

Ribs from The Rotisserie

The Rotisserie is an Aussie cafe that serves up hearty Western food like roast chicken, fish and chips, pork knuckle and ribs, in a casual yet classy environment. I used to have to walk all the way to China Square for it, but after it opened another outlet at Chulia Street, I could get a working-late takeaway dinner more conveniently.

iHerb free international shipping

I have been quite busy with other matters lately, but for the rest of June 2013 iHerb is offering free international shipping using its Global Priority Mail, and larger discounts on DHL Express, for all orders over US$40.

iHerb is also offering temporary VIP type discounts (all in USD):

5% for orders less than $60.00

6% for orders between $60.00 and $69.99

7% for orders between $70.00 and $79.99

8% for orders between $80.00 and $89.99

9% for orders between $90.00 and $99.99

10% for orders between $100.00 and $199.99

12% for orders between $200.00 and $399.99

14% for orders of $400.00 or more

Semi-homecooked dinner: Pig offal, cabbage

Blanco Court pig's stomach, intestines

Kam Long Curry Fish Head, Johor Bahru

Mom had been wanting to visit Johor Bahru's City Square shopping mall to run some errands. Before we drove there, I Googled around for good places to eat at near the shopping mall. If we are going to go all the way to Johor Bahru, we might as well fill our stomach with what is good there!

Vegetable noodles

Picture from http://www.againstallgrain.com

Kind of looks like soba noodles doesn't it? But it's zucchini noodles - thickly julienned zucchini so that it resembles noodles. Now that the sale in Singapore appears to be in full swing, I was wondering whether anyone has seen the Paderno World Cuisine or Benriner Cook Helper Slicer, or similar vegetable slicers on sale anywhere? I dream of eating things like zucchini laksa, zucchini fried "kway teow", zucchini "bak chor mee" and zucchini bolognese.

Terra Chips - New flavours at Marketplace / Cold Storage

A few days ago I was pleasantly surprised to see Marketplace at Raffles City displaying Terra Chips flavours that I have not seen in Singapore. Can you spot which ones they are?

Homecooked dinner: Prawns, pak choy

Prawns fried with black bean sauce

Beng Thin Hoon Kee

For Chinese New Year this year, the company I work at decided to have its celebratory lunch at Beng Thin Hoon Kee. Our bosses chose a set menu beforehand, so I do not know the names of the dishes that we had, but can only describe them.

Merrell Barefoot Shoes on sale

Picture from http://blog.shopshoebiz.com/

Heads up! East Mountain Sports is having a sale for Merrell Barefoot Shoes. Some shoes have been marked down to US$54!

Homecooked dinner: Wombok meatball soup

This is a one-pot meal that mom has been cooking and that I really enjoy. You can create it using a slow-cooker as well. The pork meatballs make the soup hearty and add some meaty depth to the flavour, while the wombok sweetens the soup. You can add chopped garlic to the soup base as well, but a topping of crispy garlic rounds it off, excellently, providing intense garlicky flavour to mouthfuls of vegetables and meat. Brilliant on cold, rainy days. Fast and efficient for working people.

Exercise, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and recovery

Image from http://4chandata.org/images/threads/156531_doms-delayed-onset-muscle-soreness.jpg

Every day, I have to do some exercise, whether running, rowing, swimming, cycling, gymnastics, weightlifting, or even just walking. And if I can't get any exercise, I turn into a fidgety and grumpy monkey. When my friends find out that I exercise everyday, a look of shock-amazement appears on some of their faces. Many complain of DOMS from just one session; they say they have to rest a few days before they can go at it again.

Sweet potato spotting

Sweet potato puffs spotted at NTUC Finest.

Homecooked dinner: Grilled veggies, pork bolognese

Grilled carrots and capsicum

Nongkhai Beer House, Golden Mile Complex

 

A month after returning to Singapore from Thailand last year, I was already craving for the sour-spiciness of Thai food. After some Googling around and reading the following reviews, I decided on Nongkahi Beer House at Golden Mile Complex:

- Edibles
- What's For Tomorrow?
- quirkyhill

Homecooked dinner: Bok choy, prawns, fish

Stirfried bok choy

When the only thing that is still open is McDonalds

Recently I have had a couple of really late nights at the office, working till as late as 3.30am. At Raffles Place, dining options lessen as time ticks. By 9pm, almost every cafe or restaurant in the area is closed, except perhaps some along Boat Quay. Well, I was feeling hungry at 1am, and the only place that was still serving food at that time was the 24-hour McDonalds at Boat Quay.

Tartes from Paul Bakery

This is going to be a brief review as I rarely eat tartes and am not an expert on them. We were given a box of pretty tartes from Paul Bakery. I could not resist, and had a little bite of each. I think their names are as follows:

- Top row from L-R: Strawberry Tarte, Mixed Fruit Tarte, Chocolate Tarte

- Middle row on the left: Lemon Cream Tarte with Meringue

Update: Original Luna Sandals

You may remember reading my post last October about the Original Luna Sandals that I bought from the US. Unfortunately I have been forced to throw them away. You can read more about it at the bottom of this post.

Homecooked dinner: Chicken drumlets, kai lan

Airfryer chicken drumlets

Nasi Padang River Valley

Even though Nasi Padang River Valley (NPRV) is a little tucked away along Zion Road so that passer-bys might not even know it serves nasi padang, many Singaporeans seem to know of it. I do not remember how we got to know of NPRV or when we first started having their nasi padang, but mom has been "da pao-ing" from NPRV occasionally for at least the past 10 years.

Homecooked dinner: Pig's trotters, sambal brinjal

Soya sauce braised pig's trotters with peanuts

Killiney Curry Puff

If you walk down Killiney road, you can't miss Killiney Curry Puff (KCP) with its massive green signboard and various puffs displayed behind a clear glass screen (see this example). We have walked down Killiney road a few times but never bought their curry puff to try since our favourite was already Dino's and Balmoral Bakery. But one day the foodie in me just had to give KCP's curry puff a shot, to know for myself whether it was good or not. So I bought one for mom and one for myself.

Adams Natural Peanut Butter is back in stock!

Can you spot it?

It started with mom bringing home a jar of Crunchy early last week. Then a reader Galicia Karthesier left a comment saying that she spotted some jars at Clementi Mall's NTUC Finest (thanks for the tip-off Galicia!). And today, I spotted the varieties of Adams PB at Killiney Road's NTUC, their expiry date being September 2013.

Get them while you still can!

Edit / update (13 April 2013) : The crunchy version is available at Coronation Plaza's NTUC. Only the crunchy version was on the shelf though.