Home-made: Muffins (and chocolate chip cookies)

Home-made: Green Pea Soup

Made by Mky, with help by me. Ok, I confess, I dumped the edamame in there without de-husking it first! So the taste of the end product was marred by many little fibres in your mouth.

Ramly Burger!

Eaten at Geylang Serai, Hari Raya weekend. yum yum..

Arnold's Fried Chicken

There are quite a few restaurants that serve Fried Chicken in Singapore, and one of Mky's favourites from young is Arnold's Fried Chicken, at City Plaza. Although the restaurant looks like a fast-food type restaurant, there is actually staff that serves you, all the way from the greeter who seats you, to you receiving your food at your table. This seems a little confusing at first, but I found out later that the fast-food counters are more for take-out orders and for the end-of-meal payment.

On to the food~! From the many reviews on HungryGoWhere, there are many who rave about Arnold's being the best Fried Chicken in Singapore. And both Mky and I quite agree! Succulent, juicy chicken with the crispy and oh-so-tasty skin as a flavoured accompaniment. (I'll leave the food description to Mky to take over).

And those fries~! Crispy fries that are thicker than your fast-food average - Mky believes that they fry the potatoes with a little of the chicken batter to give it that awesome flavour. I could eat that all day!



Arnold's Fried Chicken
810 Geylang Road
#02-99/101
Tel: +65 6746 2372
City Plaza

Savor Rye La Mian Xiao Long Bao Restaurant

 

We chanced upon this noodle house, and what a surprise find it was, especially for a noodle fiend like me. It seems the cuisine here is Shanghainese and is slightly different from the normal Chinese fare we get elsewhere.  The texture of the noodles is consistent and springy that gives the impression that you're getting your money's worth of carbs in every bite - just the way I love my chinese 拉面 (la mian). haha.. 

Unusually, Mky also likes this restaurant. She doesn't quite share the same enthusiasm that I do for noodles, but this restaurant has one particular dish that is quite unique and rare to see in the Singapore food circuit - Tomato & Egg Noodles. The sauce for this dish is heavy on tomatoes and very tasty (albeit healthy), with wisps of egg floating within the thickened soup. We've been here twice and Mky has ordered the same dish both times. She tends to do this a few times when she finds a dish she likes until the explorer in her starts getting experimental.

 

We tried the 小龙包 (Xiao Long Bao) which was so-so. In comparison with my favourite 小龙包 at Chinatown Food Centre, the skin was too thick dulling the enjoyment of having the warm broth burst out after a delicate bite.

Overall, for a Chinese restaurant, the food is light on MSG - I find myself not getting the post-makan MSG effect - and the dishes are quite competent. One caveat though, the small restaurant has a very limited seating capacity, and if you go at the peak hours, you might find yourself sharing a table with other patrons.


Savor Rye La Mian Xiao Long Bao Restaurant
3 Kampong Bahru Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6223 5038

Home-Made: Beetroot Couscous/ Quinoa Salad

Mky was inspired to make a couscous salad one weekend. However, she had to hold on to that urge for an entire week due to the lack of time. By the following week, she had so many ideas and was just bursting to get started! In this instance, she mixed in quinoa as well. Presenting, the Beetroot Couscous/Quinoa salad that Mky made!

I'll leave her to describe the process. I vaguely remember the process enough to describe it! It was a very sweet and sour dish, and a great balance of carbo, protein and greens. It can be eaten both warm or cold.

 

For dinner that night, Mky also grilled a few pieces of chicken with tumeric along with a grilled pineapple to supplement the dish. Fantastic!

This last pic shows Mky's own dish, having a little bit of a rabbity flourish to it. =)

Emerald Garden Thai Food

One of our fave eating/drinking places, Bar Bar Black Sheep, is host to a few very interesting food stalls. The original reason we went there was to try out the burgers from Smokin' Frogz. There's also very excellent Indian food there, which we've recently shared with our friends to rave reviews. But seeing as how Thailand has just voted in their new Prime Minister, we'll focus on the Thai outlet called Emerald Garden Thai Food.

Here we have the Papaya Salad. A fantastic dish made fabulous by the sauce used. Mky should be able to explain what it is.

Of course, what would a visit to Bar Bar's be without imbibing an exotic import? We gave the Tetley's Bitter a go, and we liked it - foamy like a Kilkeny.

Me is not a spice-lover, and so Mky will have to describe their Tom Yum soup for you. I can only say there was a lot of seafood in it!

And finally, the dish of the night - the Pork ?? This dish is listed as an appetizer on the menu... and it costs a whopping $12. But considering you're getting a whole lotta tasty meat, its not bad. Mky and I ate it as our shared main with rice. It made a nice balanced meal when eaten together with our other orders.


Emerald Garden Thai Food
@ Bar Bar Black Sheep
879 Bukit Timah Road

Random: Juchheim Baumkuchen

Spotted this little shop at Takashimaya basement selling baumkuchen, a popular dessert in Japan that originated in Europe but has a German name. Mky is a big fan of this type of layered cakes and she just stood there watching in fascination as the lady separated the portions to be packed into boxes for customers. We didn't buy any cos Mky had just bought one from Muji. Aww..

Juchheim, Takashimaya Shopping Centre B2. 
Juchheim website (Japan) 

Home-Made Savoury Pikelets with Salad + Cheesy Mini Sausages

Savoury pikelets filled with chopped cheesy sausage, shredded honey baked ham, sweetcorn, shredded snow peas and sugar snap peas, ground flax seeds and rolled oats.  Packed as a bento for my workday lunch, with a side serving of shredded romaine lettuce and skewered baby tomatoes, a wedge of Japanese cucumber and a few extra mini cheese sausages on the side.  All prepared with love by Mky.   =9

This tasty lunch treat was a real interesting dish, inspired by Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton, a book that Mky came across in the library about a food-loving father's quest to raise an adventurous eater.
Nutritious, fun, and as is Mky's trademark.. healthy!
(and I'm reading said book now too...)

Mky: Hungry Monkey is a fabulous book... couldn't put it down once I started!  If/when we have a kid in the future, would be awesome if she loves talking about food like how Iris, the child protagonist does! For now, I'll stick to cultivating an adventurous eater in Dky first :)

Savory pikelets make good pantry-clearing, bento-lunch meals, as virtually anything that isn't too soggy or runny will turn out well when panfried in sweetish pancake batter (though some tasty bacon and/or ham will really jazz flavours up, as will serving it with some chutney or good maple syrup). I try to make them healthier by using a nonstick frypan (used just a smidgen of oil), by shredding in a ton of sugar snap and snow peas, and by adding a good amount of ground flax (which also acts as a thickener) and raw rolled oats for texture.  Give it a try sometime, it's hearty, heart-warming (who doesn't love pancakes?!) and easy to go wild and creative with!

House of Robert Timm's

Welcome to the House of Robert Timms at Wheelock Place. I'm sure the coffee drinkers out there would have come across this coffee label at your local Cold Storage. The cafe we're featuring here on the other hand, not only serves several types of their favourite coffee brews, they also do all-day breakfasts! They are located where the old Borders' Cafe used to be.

Mky told me about the time her colleagues brought her here once and since then, she's been raving about the Eggs Benedict. Look at the above shot and marvel at the gorgeousness of that runny poached egg! This dish is accompanied by smoked turkey breast, bacon, baked beans and a side of salad.

I had the 3-Way Toasts on the other hand - sauteed mixed mushrooms, bratwurst sausage and a poached egg on each slice of toast, accompanied by a portion of fresh vegetables. I really enjoyed savouring each toast slowly, mixing them up for a different sensation each time.

Whether you prefer to sit al fresco and watch the people and cars at the Paterson Road/Orchard Boulevard junction, or sit indoors in the surprisingly chilly air-conditioning, this cafe caters to whichever preference you may have.


501 Orchard Road, #01-02
Wheelock Place

Tel: +65 6735 9201

Random: Gindaco Takoyaki

Tsukiji Gindaco
2 Orchard Turn, #B4-64/65
@ ION Orchard

Home-made Brown Rice Salad

Home-made Brown Rice Salad by Mky. Made for a delicious, wholesome and colourful lunch today, with sweet accents from the chopped apples being a highlight of the dish. This brown rice salad has plenty of veggies (a hallmark of Mky's usual style), wholegrains and Omega-3 oils. Mky likes to cook by colours; the more colours you have in your daily intake of food, the better for your health!  This dish wins in that category hands down - purple from the brown rice, reds/yellows/oranges and green from the vegetables and white/pink from the apple and salmon.
 

Another point to note.. Brown rice was my least favoured carbohydrate, something I'd never choose to eat on my own. So even though we're talking abt brown rice here, this dish is so good, I'm asking for seconds! Many meals ago, I gave Mky some advice on how to make the healthy but not very tasty brown rice palatable - cook it with other things! ;) We've come a long way baby!

What's inside it: brown rice (75%), basmati rice (25%), steamed salmon fillet (flaked and deboned painstakingly by Mky), corn kernels, yellow and red bell peppers, chopped kale, chopped snow peas, apples with baby tomatoes on the side.

This dish was initially to be made with cous cous, but since we were unable to find said grain in the nearby supermarket, Mky modified it to work sensationally with brown rice instead. =)

Mky's Agarationcipe* for Brown Rice Salad

(can be enjoyed hot or cold; *to "agar-agar" or "agak-agak" means to roughly estimate in local slang vernacular)

Quantity feeds 1 Dky and 2 Mkys for lunch.

You will need:

Raw rice, washed (75% brown and 25% basmati or whichever proportion you prefer)

1 large yellow bell pepper

1 large red bell pepper

1 large fillet of raw salmon

Sweetcorn kernels

Chopped raw snow peas

Chopped kale or any other dark green leafy vegetable that is more leafy than stemmy

Chopped apple (skin on), soaked in a bit of salty or lemony water to prevent oxidation

Mky's Energy-saving Method:

->  Place washed rice into a large pot and top with sufficient water to cook the rice (or perhaps with just a teeny bit less than you will usually use).  Add a few generous shakes of sweet paprika powder and a pinch of salt.

->  Top the raw rice/water with quartered chunks of yellow and red bell pepper.  Top the bell pepper stack with the raw fillet of salmon.

->  Bung a lid onto the pot and allow the whole mix to steam away. 

->  Once the salmon has become perfectly pink and juicy tender, carefully lift it out of the pot (be careful not to overcook it, Mky removes it from the heat once it goes opaque, the residual heat will cook it nicely).  At the same time, remove the chunks of bell pepper, which will also be nicely steamed and soft. 

->  What remains in the pot is the half-cooked rice, steeped in the yummy Omega-3 oils that have seeped from the salmon, and the sweet juices from the bell peppers, which will then be absorbed by the rice grains as they plump up.  Nothing wasted!  Give the rice grains a good stir to homogenise everything, then return the pot with lid to the heat source.

->  While the rice continues to bubble away happily, allow the bell peppers to cool before dicing them up to easy to eat pieces.

->  Break the tender salmon up into nice, toothsome chunks, deboning it as you go along.  Reserve any liquid to mix back into the rice later.  As for the salmon skin, either discard, or feed to any nearby fish-skin lover (Mky is one such).

->  2-3 mins before the rice is done (when it is just slightly too damp), dump in the chopped snow peas, cooked sweetcorn kernels and chopped green leafy vegetables.  Allow the vegetables to cook briefly before removing from heat.

->  Allow pot contents to rest for a few minutes before fluffing up the rice with a spatula.  Mix the salmon chunks and chopped bell peppers into the pot of rice and vegetables, integrating them well but taking care to not mash the rice with too much force.  Finally mix in the cubed apples.

->  Flavour to taste with a lashing of sesame oil, lemon salt, light low-sodium soy and freshly ground black pepper.  Don't overdo it with the seasoning, allow the sweet, delicate flavours of the fresh ingredients shine through instead for a healthier, more satisfying meal!

->  Enjoy hot or cold, with a serving of juicy baby tomatoes on the side!

**Other possible variations: Endless!  Raw nuts such as flaked almonds, crushed walnuts and cashews, vegetables such as shredded cabbage, diced carrots, kidney beans, garbanzo and cooked navy beans, sauteed onions and mushrooms, cubed feta cheese, shredded chicken breast or tuna fish... go wild!  Even add some diced chili for a bit of Asian spicy kick!

Already thinking of making another evolution for next week, with skinless chicken breasts rubbed in curry spices, grilled and cubed, tossed with brown rice and diced cucumbers, tomatoes and thinly sliced celery, sauteed red onions and shredded cabbages, served with a side bowl of plain yogurt, topped with flaked almonds.

How's that sound?  Thumbs up?

Home-made Tumeric Rice

Mky made rice one weekend in April. It had lots of good stuff in it - fish, chicken, many types of vegetables, prawns and one of my favourite carbs, rice! The main seasoning for this dish was tumeric and lemon slices..?? which was brought out by combining them all into a main pot. This dish shares some similarities with the Spanish Paella, but a Paella, it is not. Mky is getting real quick at preparing dishes these days, and even though cooking time was only about 30 minutes, we were able to tuck in soon after.

Watch out for Babi Guling!

Apologies for not posting in a while. We've been on holiday to Bali. Pics upcoming will include Babi Guling (roast suckling pig) from the famous Ibu Oka. Watch out for them!

Cedele's Blueberry Hazelnut Cheesecake

This is Cedele's Blueberry Hazelnut Cheesecake. It is fantastic! And comes with real whole blueberries inside. Great for those who like substantial cakes that is at the same time not cloying due to the fruity slant. The crushed hazelnut topping also gives an added layer of texture and flavour.

S$46 for an 8" round cake, also available in slices.
Click here for more on the Cedele website.

Cedele

Cedele is a chain of bakery-cafes that we've been going to a lot recently, ever since Mky got her Cedele Card.  To Mky, Cedele is synonymous with tasty, wholesome fare, a convenient pit stop (we frequent the Rail Mall branch near her home) where she can get her quality salad greens + lean protein fix for a decent price.  We've both been quite fascinated with their salads and sandwiches, and after trying their pasta recently, I'm even more convinced its a place that everyone should put onto their list of regular eating places.

Their prices are not as friendly as some might like (the prices also vary depending on the branch you visit, ditto their menu - widest ranges are at the Great World/Takashimaya/Wheelock branches, which are also the most exorbitant in pricing), but considering the choice organic ingredients and fairly good quality (for the salads), its serves its function as a healthy place to refuel, if one makes sensible choices.

Pictured above is the creamy mushroom linguine dish from the Rail Mall branch of Cedele.  Creamy indeed! Chock-a-block with tasty fresh mushrooms.  Perfect, actually!  <-- Dky's fave!

Mky's Seabass and Grilled Shrimp Salad @ Takashimaya.  Based on experience, the branch at Taka seems to serve smaller portions than the Wheelock one, where the salad greens engulf a good half of the plate and more, for the same price.  Visibly less veggies in the above picture, though that may please some less fanatical veggie-eaters... =)  personally, Mky much prefers less-puny veggie portions (GREEN is IN!).

Other good eats we've tried include the Cedele Beef Burger (read: JUICY!!), the grilled chicken, avocado and brie sandwich on herb foccacia (Mky: Dky couldn't stop raving as he ravenously chomped through the sandwich, first time I've ever heard him rave about any kind of sandwich), the creamy mushroom soup (best enjoyed with a ton of the free-flow bread from bread bar, especially the chewy dark rye loaf) and the buttery moist, oblong-shaped muffins.

Mky also has a soft spot for their Depot's Brew (aka "One skinny coffee, please"; they didn't get it when she actually ordered "Depot's Brew" though that's what it's called on the menu board), and their fantabulous all-day breakfast sets (blueberry pancakes!).  Cedele also has its own range of organic ice-cream (available at some branches only), though we haven't given it a try to date, in our bid to eat lighter when possible.

                            Blueberry Hazelnut Cheesecake         Caramel Sea-salt Cheesecake

(These cake pictures were 'borrowed' from the Cedele website)

 On their bakery side, they've got some pretty decent cakes, bakes and pastries, rustic loaves of bread in various permutations, and kickass cheesecakes... such as the caramel sea-salt rendition which Mky received on her birthday.  Praise for the cake came fast and furious as forks dove in to fight for the last creamy bite... Dky's getting the Blueberry Hazelnut Cheesecake for his birthday tomorrow... reviews to come as an update to this post, stay tuned!

(Review above was mostly by Mky)

**Note** The Wheelock branch of Cedele has poor ventilation, expect to come out smelling a bit greasy and stale after a meal there...


398 Upper Bukit Timah Road
The Rail Mall
Tel: 6766 3253

The list of other Cedele branches can be found at their website here.

Spizza

Ursula: Tomato, Mascarpone, Spinach, Smoked Salmon, Capers

Review by Mky:


Hungry and craving pizza yet? The Ursula is always a crowd-pleaser! Just tear off a slice, and eat at will... savour the globs of cheesy unctuous goodness as they slide down your throat...

Hard to go wrong with thick, savoury slices of smoked salmon coddling luscious mounds of melt-in-your-mouth mascarpone!  Could have done with a bit more cheese as it wasn't very well spread out, but delicious overall!  The baby spinach leaves did a good job of cutting through the tasty flavours and helped alleviate some of the guilt...

Spizza is a nice place to head to with a large group, it has a pleasantly laid-back convivial atmosphere, although the Balmoral branch tends to heat up (lousy air-conditioning?) if the weather is warm.  Dropped by with Dky's sister and a couple of the cousins and ordered up a storm (growing boys need a lot of food to keep them running)!

Overall, the food is consistently palatable, as befits a mid-range pizza place.  Spizza's pizza crust has always been pretty decent, light, airy and crisp (not rock-hard as some places make it) though it can get a bit soggy near the centre at times.  Follows is a series of photos and some comments on the dishes we enjoyed... the good company made the food taste even better... 

Caligola: Crispy Calamari With “Pizzaiola” Sauce

 Tasty enough, crispy batter but the calamari rings could be more tender.  Tasted good when paired with the pesto mayo from the next dish...

Mozzarella Sticks with Pesto Mayonnaise

 Moreish crunchy crust encasing molten gooey mozzarella... cheese-lovers will totally dig this!

 

Crispy Chicken Wings with Arrabbiata sauce

Barbara: Tomato, Mozzarella, Hot Italian Minced Pork, Shallots, Olives

Quinta: Tomato, Mozzarella, Egg, Black Truffle Sauce

The scintillating, earthy aroma of black truffles makes this a must-try!  Knock open the gleaming, quivery, runny egg yolk and let it soak into the pizza crust... adds a silky taste sensation which heightens the unique fragrance of truffles... very simple, but very, very good!  Wonder why we've not tried it sooner!

All in all, a casual, reliable place to get reasonably good wood-fired pizza, for fairly decent prices.  A good standby if a craving needs to be satiated and no other places come to mind.

Balmoral Plaza
271 Bukit Timah Rd, 259708
Tel: 6333 8148

The Plain

Dean's Breakfast (can't remember if this was the full-sized or if they only had this size)..

We were brought to this cafe that serves all-day breakfast by friends Shu & Jo (with Serene) one Sunday afternoon. It was about 3.30pm and we hadn't yet had our lunch. Initially we were gonna stop here for a light snack before heading elsewhere for an early dinner, but after our hour-long tete-a-tete, we realized toast, eggs and hot chocolate can make us really full.. Plus the setting was ideal for a really nice catch-up over breakfast, no matter the time of day.

The Dean's Breakfast pictured above was really delicious. Emmenthal cheese on sourdough bread spread with vegemite was pungent and tasty, and topped with perfectly-done poached eggs. Poke the egg and have some runny yolk mixed in for an even stickier experience.

Humpty Dumpty & Vegemite Soldiers.... Pictured here with 1 egg missing.

Vegemite is something that all mothers should introduce into their child's breakfast. Mky and I reminisced about eating bread with Bovril/ Marmite/ Vegemite when we were kids - comfort food for sure! We had a minor issue with one of our half-boiled eggs, the staff needed reminding that we were short on one (and it finally arrived almost fully done). But Mky took her time and thoroughly savoured her single dippy egg.

Hot Drinking Chocolate best sipped slowly.. 

This place has a reputation for great coffee (some say one of the best), and a really chill-out ambience, inspired by Melbourne cafes. There's a mix of staff ranging from young and upbeat kids to an elderly lady who was very eager to please. Great service really!

The Plain
50 Craig Road, #01-01
Singapore 089688
Tel: 6225 4387

Kellog's Corn Flakes Vintage Tin

There was a promotion (not sure if it's still ongoing) for a packet of Kellog's Corn Flakes "Classic" that came packed with a Vintage Tin costing about S$6.60 only. That's for 2 x 275grams of corn flakes (there was an additional 275 grams of corn flakes in the tin). If I remember correctly, we found them in NTUC Fairprice supermarket.

The tin has a 2-sided design, and can be opened from the top-side. The above pic shows one side, the other has a vintage colour image of a kid eating corn flakes with similar wordings. The alternate design for this vintage tin is an all-white one (not pictured).

We thought it was a great deal and a beautifully retro design for our future kitchen and picked up both designs!

Random: K ki

A sweet slice of Japan (the link is a write-up on the Japanese-style cafe from The Puff List. "K ki" is pronounced as "Cakey".)

K ki,
7 Ann Siang Hill.

Home-made Mushroom Cream Pasta

Mky made this mushroom cream pasta dish a few weeks back. It was healthy (wholegrain pasta noodle), and the yummy sauce was entirely home-made, with the natural flavours of rendered pork fat (removed after attaining the oil), onions, mushrooms, as well as peas! The patties we purchased whole from a supermarket, and that was probably the saltiest thing on the plate. Check out the process in the pics above.

Oh yes, as you might be able to tell, we tried to emphasize 'plating' a bit more in this one. Hope it turned out nicer than our previous attempts. We're still learning!

Random: Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee @ Hong Lim Complex

Supposedly one of the best Char Kway Teow in Singapore. My colleague Yang says its up there amongst the elite 'leagues' in Singapore. I didn't try it myself so I can't comment, but that really is a bold statement!
Note: The stalls in the temporary Hong Lim hawker centre are currently in the process of shifting to the newly rebuilt Hong Lim Complex. Don't be confused if you suddenly rush out and don't know where to go! They're only about 2 blocks apart anyway.

Random: Eat @ Bukit Timah Rail Mall

Decent Bak Chor Mee + tea/coffee set for $5! And they're open 24hrs a day, perfect for that late night greasy snack.

Note: Bak Chor Mee is a local minced meat noodle dish that is usually flavoured with black vinegar, pork lard and braised mushrooms.

436 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, The Rail Mall.

Tel: +65 6462 3034

New Sensations @ 7 Sensations!

After our excellent first visit to this healthy vegetarian restaurant, Mky decided that she would love to bring her parents here and sample the other aspects of their wide and varied menu.

We ordered the Moussaka again, but instead of going for individual portions, we did a shared-dishes type of meal this round. We also had a platter of Gado-gado and Mango-Avocado Salad to kickstart the meal - both dishes were decent but nothing to write home about.

Moving on to the mains, we had one serving each of Korean Brown Rice, Petai Fried Rice and a bowl of regular brown rice as our main carbs, to go with the Tea-Flavoured Vegetables, Sambal Buah Keluak and "Mutton" Curry.  Though we were already quite stuffed by then, the urge to order desserts was irresistible so we rounded off the excellent meal with some sweet treats - Chocolate & Raspberry Cake, Eggless Durian Cake and Avocado Mousse.

Since we had a larger party this time, we managed to sample a wider variety of delectables in the 7 Sensations menu.  Overall roundup:

HITS:
- Moussaka: according to Mky, today's version of the Moussaka tasted even better than our last encounter. We surmised that it was cos we ate it hot, straight from the oven, rather than letting it stand till it got cold. Very good nonetheless!  Mky: Moussaka was moister this time round, giving it a smoother, richer bite than our previous try (which was in itself good, but this time it was better!), where it was a bit grainy.  The eggplant layer was also more discernable... a good thing!
- Korean Brown Rice: can't go wrong with this dish!  Everybody liked it.
- Petai Fried Rice: slightly tastier than the regular plain brown rice.. Mky: the petai bits could have been bigger for more kick... by cutting them into slivers, there's hardly any petai taste in each bite unless one gets lucky and has a whole heap clustered together.
- Tea-Flavoured Vegetables: smelled great, loved the thick mushroom slices!  Mky: thought it clever that they deep-fried thick-cut slices of mushroom stem.  Created a taste sensation similar to fishcake which wowed us all.  The greens were well-executed, no tough fibrous bits, only crunchy tasty goodness!
- Chocolate & Raspberry Cake: Excellent high density cake that Mky decided would likely be the cake that I will be having for my birthday in April =D  Mky: Looking at Dky's expression when eating it, I knew for sure he'd love to have it as his birthday cake.  Saved the very last bite for him, and boy was he gleeful.  Cake had a decadent, almost velvety mouthfeel, liked very much that it was made of bittersweet chocolate enhanced by the pleasing tartness of raspberry jam.  Definitely not a sugar-bomb confection.  We love it!
- Avocado Mousse: Cool, soft and topped with a generous portion of gula melaka.

MISSES:

- "Mutton" Curry - The "mutton" pieces were actually very well-done, with realistic grain and texture and without the greasy sheen one usually associates with mock meats.  However, the curry gravy was a letdown as it was thin and tasted too strongly of curry powder.  One-dimensional.
- Gado-gado - Mky: Not quite worth it's price tag, even if the sauce was made of cashews (or was it almonds??).
- Sambal Buak Keluak: Even though this is categorised under a "Miss", I must say you can't go wrong with Buah Keluak.  Main issues was the sauce that was used - it had way too much vinegar, so it was overwhelmingly sour and mouth-puckering.  The "chicken" bits were as good as the "mutton" though!
- Eggless Durian Cake: Mky's parents who are durian lovers, say that the cake here didn't match up.  And this was quite obvious from the speed at which the other 2 desserts were being consumed, leaving the durian cake in the dust.  Mky: Perhaps the durian cake would have benefited from the inclusion of some fresh durian pulp for texture and fragrance.  The cake appeared to have been set with a gelatin or gelling agent, which affected its creaminess.


I must say that eating at 7 Sensations is a real happy-making experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the tastes that each and every single dish promised, especially since there is no MSG aftermath following it. I was practically bursting with joy while eating here! Mky: hear, hear! No MSG attacks!

Currently there is a promotion for Standard Chartered card-holders. Eating here on a Sunday gets you a whopping 20% discount. Spending over $100 gets you another 5% on top of that. That means you get a whopping 25% discount! Doesn't that make you want to just make a reservation there now?
(A caveat: being in Little India, there are a lot of foreign workers thronging the streets on Sundays, thus the large discount probably benefits only those who don't mind or aren't scared of walking in huge crowds.  Finding a parking space can also be an issue.).

Kudos once again to cousin Dawn for introducing this delightful restaurant to us.

16 Madras Street S(208413)
(Just behind The Verge at Tekka)
Tel: 6298 8198