POTD - Long (requested) lunch

How can I ever reject lunch proposed by the boy? Especially when it's salmon (Hello?) and there is the minestrone soup which I have been bugging him for it for a long long time.

Mmmhmm. One advantage of dating a chef-in-training is you get to bug request for food.

POTD: Law Mai Kai

Ever since the last visit to Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant, the boy and I came to love this dish because of the tender chicken and flavourful rice. Mmmm~

Hourly Snap // Panoramic Picnic

The last time both of us had a picnic date was in 2009. Unlike that time, I didn't prepare food for this morning's session. Well, I offered to do the Chicken Mayo the boy likes, but I got pissed off when his chefy self suggested on another cooking method which I obviously can't do. So all responsibilities are pushed to him. :\

7am // "Why can me go with you? Since me can't go, me leave me scent."

8am // Camera, check. Ice, check. Food, check. We forgot drinks, again.

9am // To have smoked salmon as breakfast is the kind of luxury I don't mind having. If only the bread is not as thick, it would be purr-fect.

10am // I only truly learn how to use panorama function after the boy tried out on his iPhone 5. Takes lots of stability and patient, it's quite fun actually.

11am // The one above has been kind to us for the whole morning. It only started drizzling when we drive out of East Coast Park. Lucky us.

12pm // According to my schedule, it says "Kill more Sims" for the rest of today. Alright!

Plan B didn't happen, so overall today's session is a success! Talked a lot about the ongoing and upcoming. The awesome breeze, all dogs sighted and angels learning cycling are definitely bonuses for the day.

I can feel tingling sensation on the area that was exposed to the morning sun. Please don't let it be sunburn! *fingers crossed*

Here's the boy and me wishing and praying with our slitty smiles (for you, for ourselves) for a better week ahead!

Although mine technically will only be better in 2013. Oh well.

POTD: Chendol

Chendol with gula melaka for bowfectionist. Sweetness madness!

POTD: Chicken Roulade

With the not-so-good planning of the trainee-chef, we had a chicken feast today. I love how tender the Chicken Roulade is. Oh, not forgetting the surprising Carrot Purée Soup and the improved version of Roast Potato!

POTD: Red Bean Ice Cream Pancake

Apparently the ice cream part is just very cold red bean paste, but still nice to have it before the weekend ends.

POTD: Chocolate Truffle Cake

Chocolate Truffle Cake from Shangri-La hotel, thanks to the complimentary voucher from the birthday girl. The boy would definitely like the richness of the cake.

POTD: Lovely Breakfast

A good morning starts with a good breakfast consisting of pancakes and hashbrowns, and obviously includes my loveable boy.

I'm rarely this mushy, so bear with me.

POTD: Oolong Tea Chiffon Cake

Taste nothing like its name.

Pre Raya Dinner

Since I have long decided I won't be joining the Wu family in this year's Raya visiting, I thought it might be good for me to join in the dinner on the eve. Don't worry, I didn't self invite myself. My skin is not that thick, yet.

The boy had always said how relatives will break fast at Eayi's place the first and last day of Ramadan, and the fact I am never good with crowd, I was pretty nervous when his mum invited me to join in the dinner. It was a huge relieve (oops) when it was just Yaie, Bikna and the five of us.

Photo in courtesy of @johanwu

Although I'm not too big of a rubbish bin like Johan, I still enjoy food as much as I can. That includes trying them as well. There was any rubber chicken this time round, but the tonight's simplicity was oily good enough.

On my plate there were 5 pieces of lontong (I don't know what the boy was thinking) side with sambal goreng (with prawns, bean curd, tempeh), serundeng and sambal sotong. He suggested to combine all and eat, and boy, it was good! My tummy felt very satisfied with after meal pineapple tarts, cookies and sweet mango.

I know I'm going to miss out the same goodies, green packets, spying same colours outfits on the road, and the day might even end up feeling bored. It's a choice I made, so, I won't regret it.

Wishing all the Muslims and my friends out there (and people who are enjoying the long weekend), Selamat Hari Raya!

Hourly Snap // Surprise for Le Haus Partayye

Have been wanting to try out The Dainty Squid's Photo an hour but didn't really have a good opportunity until yesterday. I wasn't really keeping track of time, which is a good thing since I won't feel forced, but being busy for a couple of hours had made me bummed about it. Better try next time!

8am // Bun-ed up, ready get the house chores rolling.

9am // Cleaned up Xiao Bai's cage. He was preying outside the kitchen patiently, came running back home to ask for food the moment I'm done cleaning. Clever boy.

10am // Rushed with the printing of props for the photo booth while expressing my excitement for the surprise over WhatsApp with Emily.

11am // Outfit of the day. Top (from SIXTIES) Bottom (from Bugis Street) Pink-Navy Bag (from Riot).

12pm // Ended up taking a cab to the airport. Spent too much time at Popular when I didn't have to in the first place.

1pm // Got too excited upon meeting Emily and was overwhelmed by both of our nervous feeling towards the surprised. No snapshot.

2pm // Got engrossed into lunch, especially Satay Bee Hoon which turned out to be disappointing, and over Gong Cha. Still feeling hyped up and nervous about the surprise. No snapshot.

3pm // Settled down after the surprise with some cutting for props on hand.

4pm // Last to go and I'm done!

5pm // Carrots are my favourite. These mini ones just make me so happy!

6pm // Personalising our styrofoam cup. Creativity at its best.

7pm // Only five bothered made an effort to doodle for recognisition.

8pm // Too much catch up and making fun session over dinner. Oh, and the dirty topics too. I don't even. No snapshots.

9pm // Cupcakes from Twelve Cupcakes to end the day.

Le Haus Partayye bubbled up from the spontaneous and rebellious (Intan's parents were abroad) part of us. The other reason is all of us get to gather since donkey years.

During a random conversation on Wednesday, Emily and I somehow came up with the idea of her coming over to the party. We thought it would be more fun to keep it a secret, so I hid the fact from the other 7 guests, that included the host and my boy. *gives an angelic smile*

When I picked her up from the airport, we thought about how their reactions will be like and start panicking. We can only imagine how Intan's reaction will be like but not the others! "What if the surprise fail?!" Yah, that kind of idea got stuck with us for the whole early afternoon.

It was really nice to watch as their eyes went big and exclaim "OH MY GOD!!! Why are you here!?!" Although I felt REALLY bad for not keeping my promise to be there earlier to help in the grocery shopping and decoration.

Despite getting teeny tiny over the budget, the party went well with damn great food (in my opinion). What matters (to me) the most is that the rest are happy with Emily's existence and the special guest is happy that the surprise went better as planned.

With a crazy weekend like that, I'm pretty sure Monday will be blue-st than ever. Good to Intan with all the crazy photos (Yes, that means I'm waiting LOL) editing and scanning. Now it's time to get ready and hop to town!

POTD: Tako Yaki

The boy and I were kinda looking forward to dinner at Swensen's (mainly him looking forward to Chicken Strips). We were like lost sheep when we found out the outlet at Toa Payoh is longer there.

I guess Sakae Sushi will do for now.

Taken with iPhone Instagram App.

The Usual Food Date

Whenever someone asks where and how we spend our dates, the boy and I normally tell them we spend the most time of it on food. Then, they will either look at my size or think we're kidding. I know it don't sound like it at all, but we seriously spend more time and money eating than any other things. I think that's the best activity we can think of.

With the free day on his schedule, and last minute changes on his family plan, we thought we can just have a quick dinner before going home. I had a craving for dim sum, but was too unpractical and not motivated enough to travel all the way to Tang Tea House at Simpang Bedok. So as the boy suggested, we ended up at Old School Delights, again.

We kind of ditched the idea of sharing so we can have enough space for deserts. The boy had Black Pepper Chicken Cutlet (SGD 12.90) while I tried their Home-Style Breaded Fish & Chips (SGD 13.90) since it's the last main course on their menu I've never had before. We had the usual side order Chicken Niblet (SGD 5.80) and the sauce is awesome! I've always rejected the idea of trying the sauce for reasons I have no idea of. Why did I make such a silly decision?!

Apparently the boy's cousin posted a sinful dessert of his likings on Instagram and the hideout is located at Upper Thomson. No wonder he suggested OSD.

NeLi's ice cream is a very toned down sweet stop, unlike its district rivalry Salted Caramel and Udders. It's very clean and homey cosy, perfect for that alone time with your partner or just yourself. We placed an order for their Lava Cake (SGD 4.00) and was told beforehand about the 30 minutes waiting time. My ears were busy, of course, listening to the boy's grandmother story.

I was grinning from ear to eat when the cake arrived. It has been more than a year since our last lava cake at Pizza Hut. For the boy, no doubt, he was way more excited than me since he's a huge fan of sinful chocolate cake.

It was a fun scene watching the boy attacking its core with the lava oozing out after that and his "Mmmm~" reaction to go with. It was tad bitter for me, but don't take my words too seriously, I prefer sweet chocolate over the bitter ones.

The night was short and sweet, left me contented and in a state of food coma. Hopefully yours have been awesome too.

Here's a lazy Xiao Bai to end the post!

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Old School Delights
215M Upper Thomson Road Singapore 574408
Tel: (65) 6458 4518 / 8117 9407

Operating Hours:
12:00pm to 11:00pm
Closed on Monday & Tuesday

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NeLi's ice cream
233 Upper Thomson Road Singapore 574364
(Opposite Roti Prata House)
Tel: (65) 6452 2410

Operating Hours:
Sun to Thu - 12:00pm to 11:00pm
Fri to Sat - 12:00pm to 1:00am

Steamed Meat with Preserved Lettuce

Ever since I can remember, my brother and I love to steal a couple of preserved lettuce whenever mummy is in preparation of porridge. Sure it sounds unhealthily salty, but it's just too difficult to resist the goodness.

I can't remember when, neither can mummy remember how this was came across to her, the dish has been one of the regular ones prepared for dinner. It might have started when we're still residing at aunt's place, but brother and I definitely see more of this simple dish when we move back home after I graduated 6 years back.

Ingredients needed

• Minced meat of your choice


• Preserved lettuce x 1 can


• Eggs x 2


• Water

The procedures are quite straight forward. If I can do it, so can anyone!

1. Dice the preserved lettuce to your preferred sizes. Don't have dice them into really fine bites, you might not be able to feel the crunchy-ness. I've seen some recipes that use the lettuce a whole, so it's really up to you here.

2. Mix the diced preserved lettuce, eggs with minced meat. Massage Mix them together.

3. Add water as you mix. It will appear as if the mixture is a little soaked. The amount of water you add determines the moisture you will get when it's cooked. If you add too little, the dish might turn out looking dry and tough. Don't flood the whole dish though!

4. Wait for the water to boil. Steam over medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes.

During lazy days, just one dish is good enough to go with a plate of rice.

Also available on Snapguide. Click here.

Noor Jannah's Kitchen

Since about four years ago, I've been slowing exposed to the food experiece of Malay cuisines and found myself falling in love with some. For example, mee soto, nasi lemak and other simple dishes that might not sound fantastic.

After a trip with his dad to Noor Jannah's Kitchen, Johan highly recommended that we should pay a visit there one day.

A little uninteresting fact, we are more like a eating couple instead of movie goers. Hehe.

Couple of days back, being indecisive during one of our almost-daily cracking head session for dinner, we ended up at the quiet Jalan Masjid street.

Singing praises of the stall's Bone Steak Hor Fun Opeh, we ordered just one with him assuring it's more than enough for the both of us. I had my doubts. Johan had also ordered a plate of Rojak with only You Char Kueh to kill some waiting time.

Even though the rojak sound like a simple and fast dish to make, it took quite a while to arrive. Maybe there were many orders from the not so-many-customers hour. Somehow, the rojak (SGD 5.00) doesn't taste like any others I've came across, which made it unique. It was "fresh" in the sense the you char kueh wasn't soaked up causing it to be soggy.

I heard from him they also have the fruity versions which he don't fancy since he's not a fruity person. Such a waste.

So far, I've only tried bone steaks (aka tulang) at Beach Road. I am no big fan for the goodness of tulang with its mushy bites, neither am I a lover of beef all thanks to Johan massive meatball feast at Ikea. Oh god, I feel so sick in the stomach even as I type the later.

Ok, back on track. The marrow (aka som som) of this dish are small and easily retrieve without knocking. For the meat on the bone, unlike the one at Beach Road where it takes you some time to nibble and bite, it is easily "scrapped" with just spoon or fork. Such convenience is the best for lazy people like me.

The gravy is freshing and hor fun goes really well with it. It's only tad spicy, unlike the exaggerated version from Johan's mouth. Despite my feel towards beef, this Bone Steak Hor Fun Opeh (SGD 8.00) is definitely worth the try.

Sure enough, these two orders left us bloated beyond words. Well, at least it's more for me since I can hardly stand the taste of beef. Sucks to be me.

After settling the bill that day, Johan told me besides the Bone Steak Hor Fun Opeh, they also have the chilli crab version.

Y U NO TELL ME EARLIER!?!

With that, I was left hanging and craving for the chilli crab sauce. I thought having tom yum for lunch and indulging in my favourite dim sum will help ease the craving, but noooo! So, gave in to craving eventually!

I was so excited, I was literally grinning from ear to ear when we arrived at the usual parking spot. Thankfully the crowd was just like the previous visit.

The waiter seems to be more smiley this time round while taking our orders. After placing our orders, I don't know if they accept NETS payment or not, so Johan had to ride to somewhere else just to draw money. Oops.

We were told by waiter they've sold out their crab and he suggested on the prawn ones instead. I agreed with the sad and okay-guy look. So much anticipation for nothing.

Or so I thought.

The sauce taste exactly the same as chilli crab gravy. With just a dollar less, the Chilli Prawn Hor Fun Opeh (SGD 12.00) has definitely satisfied my craving. Although it was spicy, I actually can eat more of this compared to the previous visit.

Besides the above, we had Claypot Chicken Rice (SGD 5.00) which was also highly recommended by Johan.

The assumption I had of claypot rice is the rice grains are tad hard with the meeting point of rice and claypot crispy-burnt. This particular one from Noor Jannah's Kitchen is nothing of what I've just mentioned. The rice grains are soft and appetising. The part that surprises me the most is that the base is not sticked to the claypot, let alone crispy-burnt. I wonder if they had cooked the ingredients and rice separately before merging them together in a claypot.

The two trips to Noor Jannah's Kitchen had left me satisfied and beyond bloatness. I almost fell into food coma.

One tip though. Unless you are a big eater (and I mean REALLY big eater), it's best not to have a main by yourself. The look-small-but-actually-not portion and the overall seduction of your taste buds and stomach will make you feel full very quickly.

If you are in for a food adventure or comparison mission, why not just hop over to Noor Jannah's Kitchen?

Noor Jannah's Kitchen
2 Jalan Masjid, Singapore 418920

The above content is vomitted based on personal opinions. You may or may not agree with it. Don't bomb me.