Candy Empire at Millenia Walk

Candy Empire

Millenia Walk
9 Raffles Boulevard
01-95/96/97/98
Singapore 039596
6336 2968

After dinner at Bab Noodle Restuarant @ Millenia Walk, we made our way over to the Candy Empire. GF have been looking for the Ferrero Giotto, some sort of cousin of Ferrero Rocher. Her schoolmate gave her a box where she got from Frankfurt. After that box, it was no turning back for the choco-fanatic GF of mine in her neverending search for Ferrero Giotto.



Somehow thru her "extensive" cob of networks, she managed to narrow down on Candy Empire at Millenia Walk. And mind you, like Godiva, one should never attempt to enter should he/she has a terrible sweet tooth.


S$13.50 for a box of 4 packs. Quite steep for the quantity but quality-wise it's woth every cents. Try it !~!~!~

Godiva Chocolatier's Chocolixir

CityLink # B1-49
1 Raffles Link
CityLink Mall
(65) 6238-0819
(65) 6238-0639

I first read about Godiva Chocolatier's Chocolixir off Simmie's blog . The rave reviews about it creates some kind of craving or rather anticipation for Godiva Singapore to introduce this fabulous beverage here in sunny Singapore.
We didn't wait long. Soon after we heard we can now taste the ultimate Chocolate lover's drink at Godiva Citylink ( not so sure if Millenia Walk or Taka does carries this item thou ). For S$8, this is steep for a ice-blend chocolate beverage. But this is Godiva Chocolatier's Chocolixir!~!~! Ice-blended Godiva 72% Extra Dark Chocolate pieces with rich dark chocolate flavors.


Being the non-hardcore chocolate fan ( can't say the same for GF thou ), just the 1st sip won me over. The thick full-bodied dark chocolate flavours filled the mouth, slidding smoothly down the throat without being overly bitter. This is really good stuff!~!~! GF couldn't stop slipping the drink. Damn it is this good!~!~!

And if you're Chocoholic, please dun venture into Godvia alone. Unless you wanna come out of the store with loads of chocolates, not to mention a big dent in the pockets. Godiva Chocolatier's Chocolixir is definately worth the try!~!~!~

Ah Orh Seafood Restaurant

On Thursday night, we had dinner at Ah Orh Seafood Restuarant @ Jalan Bukit Merah. I remember Channel 8 or Channel U ever did a spcial on this Restuarant some time back. I also vaguely remember it gave them rave reviews. With this in mind, we were full of anticipation as we made our way there.

Orders were quickly placed and i dare say equally quickly served. The food were served in such speed that puts MacDonald's and KFC in shame.

Steamed Tofu with minced meat topping.
Often we heard chefs on TV says, "the most difficult dish to cook is always the simplest fare". How true this statement holds. The tofu was silky smooth, the minced meat topping very bursting with flavours and the broth was ichiban! I poured it over my bowl of rice and ensured every single grain of it was coated with the delicious broth. Things are starting to look good....


Stir Fried Vegetables with Assorted Seafood
Honestly i have no idea what particular type of veg was used but this was yet another simple homecooked fare cooked to perfection. The veg were crunchy and the seafood were fresh. They were very generous with the ingredients used. I ain't complaining.


Singapore's Chilli Crabs
When this dish was served, the overwhelming smell of ginger filled the air. First taste, there was indeed a ginger overdose, well at least for me. This was nowhere near any Chilli Crabs we've had. I think mum would do a better job with it. The crabs were however very fresh and meaty.

Fried Man Tous for the Chilli Crabs
Self-explainatory. Anything deep fried will taste much better. Look how shiny they looked!


Shrimp-Paste Chicken
This was disappointing. The meat was dry and lacks the shrimp paste flavours. We also had the Fried Yam Ring and the Gor Hiong but we were busy eating the dishes they served at lightning spped that we forgotten to take a photo of it. The Yam Ring itself was very delicious. The natural sweetness of the yam was absolutely mind blowing. I think the only place that serves a equal or even better Yam Ring will be the now defunct Teck Lim Restuarant at Zion Road. Damn i miss their Sea-Cucumber Duck soup.


Service wise , we were pleasantly please with the speed the food served. However perhaps because of the high expectations, we were kind of disappointed with the quality of the food served here. I MISS TECK LIM Restaurant!~!~!~!~!~!!~

Swensen's Bugis Junction

Swensen's Cafe - Restaurant
Parco Bugis Junction
230 Victoria Street #01-68
Parco Bugis Junction Singapore 188021
Tel : 6336 9784 Fax : 6336 9786
Opening Hours : 1030 to 2230

Got a $40 voucher from Swensen's after getting a pink V3 for GF as her Christmas present this year. Finally made it to Parco Bugis Junction to use the voucher this weekend.


Seafood Mushroom Chowder
Served in a Sourdough Breadbowl -

There were lots of seafood in the breadbowl. Huge chuncks of fresh fish fillets, prawns, lots of button mushrooms, calamaris, some shellfish. Although there is a slight hint of ginger but it kinds of goes well with the sourdough. We basically finished up the whole breadbowl!~!~~! Good enough for me to come back for it again. ( 3.5/5)


Calamari Rings -
Golden-Fried Calamari Rings served with tartar sauce

I kind of suspect the calamri weren't that fresh after i found it really hard to bite thru the golden brown batter. Serving wise was quite okie. There were about 8 calamari rings in it and the accompanying tartar sauce tasted like more like mayo to me. ( 2/5 )


Breaded Chicken Meuniere -
Golden-Fried marinated Chicken Cutlet. Served with US Fries and Coleslaw

This is good stuff. The meat was perfectly sealed in by the golden brown breadcrumbs. It was juicy and wonderfully tender. Even thou the menu says "marinated", but the meat bursting with the natural flavours of chicken. Will definated go back for this. Yummy yummy. Fries were so-so, coleslaw still okie. Damned, i'm feeling hungry now...


Chicken Baked Rice -
Tender-Fried Breaded Chicken baked over savory rice in white sauce.

I like how the rice turns out beneathe the melted cheese and chicken chunks. However this would have fared much better if Swensen's had used more cheese toppings. The rice is soft and full of flavour, somewhat like hainanese chicken rice. ( 3.5/5 )

A relatively good experience at Swensen's Bugis Junction. Miss the Chicken Cutlet already...

7th Jan 2006 - Amazing "makan" Race part 2

Pitstop - Punggol Jetty.

Dinner at Hong Kong Cafe was a good experience. We both enjoyed the food as well as each other's company. Life is looking good. It doesn't really matter if it's good food or simple food we're having, to me, it boils down to the lady that waas sitting in front of me throughout the dinner, teasing me on everything i did, and letting me tease her back.. I really will treasure every moment we share babe.

We were wondering where to enjoy the rest of the night when Punggol Jetty came up. Never been there so i thought why not. a quiet place. Only one lonely Jetty, 3 sleepy dogs, a shabby police post and 2 police officers.

There were a few others on the jetty. The couples were hugging and perhaps whispering sweet nothings to each other, the others were probably there for the sotongs. The idea of writting a novel titled " A lonely man and the headless Sotong" came out suddenly.

The weather that night was fantasic. The wind was cooling but it has this strange smell to it. I attribute that to either the oil refinery on the opposite island, or the smell from the sotong heads... hmmm.. lolz.

Next stop, Changi International Airport Terminal 2. We sometimes wondered how it's like at Changi in the middle of the night. You know that the journey from Marine Parade to Punggol to Changi sure needs lots of energy. And by the time we reach Changi, we started to feel a little bit hungry ( mouth itchy ). Luckily MacDonalds was available. Tried the Fan-tastic Rice Burger. We were not impressed. Taste wise okie but i would rather put my money on fillet-o-fish or macChicken.
We walked around Terminal 2, exploring the place like 2 little kids from Pulau Ubin. Took a couple of cheeky pictures before we left T2 for Jurong.

7th Jan 2006 - Amazing "makan" Race part 1

HONG KONG CAFE PTE LTD
378/380 EAST COAST ROAD
SINGAPORE 428985

RESERVATION/CALL & COLLECT
HOTLINE: 6440 3808 / 6440 0083
FAX: 6440 3110

OPERATION HOURS
Monday - Sunday & Public Holiday: 6pm to 5am


The race began at 8pm. First check point was this Hong Kong Cafe at Marine Parade. GF have been dropping hints about paying this cafe a visit for quite a while. I was thinking to myself, "Not another Tong Shui?"

Following strict directions, we can't seem to locate the cafe. GF believe that this cafe had sort of blended in with it's surroundings which probably explained why we missed it earlier. I blamed it based on scientific explanations. We were Hungry, in fact too hungry to open our eyes bigger.Actually the ambience was quite alright. Business was good that night and we were lucky to be able to find a good seat in the al-fresco dinning area. Once seated, it's time to get down to business.

Looking thru the extensive menu they have will leave you even hungrier. A simple description will be sufficient enough to set your hungry mind wild. Check out their menu here -> http://www.hkcafe.com.sg/

GF ordered the Hong Kong Cafe Special Baked Rice.
The melted cheese nearly drove GF crazy. I would say the portion of the food were huge and with substance. Many a time we find ourselves paying a higher price only to find the quality to be on the other end. In this case, we were very very satisfied. Thier Special Baked Rice have a reasonably thick layer of melted chees on top. Beneathe all that cheese there were generous amount of prawns and sotongs, and a huge piece of special sauce Prok Chop!~!~!~ I like how the special sauce ( the red colour tomatoe based sauce ) goes so well with the rice and the seafood. However i dun really find the quality of the seafood used of top quality. They tasted a bit lempeh lempeh to me. Things were starting to look better....

I ordered the Curry Pork Chop and Chicken Chop Rice. I was hungry , and nothing less then huge pieces of meat to satisfy me. Let alone a dish that gives me the chance to taste both Pork Chop and Chicken Chop at the same time. "gotta have this, gotta have this" i was telling myself as i wrote down the our orders on the specially designed paper.

And boy , i was a happy man when my dish arrives. On top of it all is a piece of beautifully panfried sunny side up. There were huge pieces of Pork Chops and Chicken Chops, and not to mention an absolute local's favourite, Curry Chicken as dressing. I would prefer with a little bit more of that curry sauce thou.

The Pork Chops and Chicken Chops were well marinated and cooked perfectly. They were both juicy and extremely tender. More, More, More....
We both ordered Yuan Yangs ( The Perfect Match ). However i was disappointed at the quality. So far we were very satisfied with the environment and their service, their food but their speciality, the Yuan Yang, pales in comparision to Tong Shui's. Will give it a miss the next time round.

For desserts GF had a serving of Banana French Toast with ice-cream. I had a simple Mango King.

A beauty isn't it. The presentation alone won me over. I have a thing for how my food are presented in a simple and elegant way. The Toast was good. Gotta try it with a bit of the ice-cream and banana. Heavenly... (5/5)

I had the Mango King. Initially i thought it was a Hong Kong speciality but i never expect it to turn out to be a smoothie of that sort. And i was a willy little bit disappointed when they brought over my Mango King.

Soon after my first mouth, my worries were gone. This smoothie is a hit!~!~! A specially blended smoothie with HK cafe special mango jelly, topped generously with crunchy bits of sweet mangoes and a scope of mango ice-cream. I'll definately come back for this.

After dinner, we made our way down to the 1st pitstop of the race. Punggol Jetty... TBC....

2nd outing to Tong Shui

54 Zion Road
Singapore 247779
( opp Great World City, traffic direction towards town )


We discover Tong Shui to be quite a nice place to chill out, despite not being overly impresed with the food there. Drinks wise, we're quite happy, service wise good.So last weekend, we made another trip down to Tong Shui.

GF wanted to try the Toast with Condense milk and the Yuan Yang ( a cocktail of coffee and tea ).Extra thick slab of bread, fried till golden brown. Drizzled generously with condensed milk and strawberry jam.


Personally i prefer the toast naked or just simply dressed with maple syrup. The one we had, Hong Kong Toast with Condensed Milk and Strawbewrry Jam ( $3.99 ), was a bit too sweet for my liking.

GF had the Yuan Yang ( to my best understanding, it is a cocktail of coffee and tea ). I like how the drink turns out to be. You could taste the coffee as well as the tea unlike most places where the drink more ofthe than not, turns out overly diluted. I was telling GF, if there is one thing that i would make me come back to Tong Shui, it will be the Yuan Yang.

I ordered the 8-Treasure Tea, which is served cold in a separate pot. The presentation is very nice as you can see all the ingredients that were used to make this drink. Although i thought the 8-Treasure Tea could do with a little bit more sweetness. Or maybe my tastebuds were paralysed by the incredibly sweet Toast earlier.


Cannot remember the name for this dish. Some fried chicken wings baked with cheese. A little too salty and the wings were charred. Give this a miss. Funny how Tong Shui operates though. This time round we were there, our food was served 30 minutes upon ordering ( the chicken wings and the ying yang paste dessert ) but our drinks were the last to come. Funny huh....


The Ying-Yang Paste dessert ( i conjured up the name, i have very bad memory ). Basically Almond Paste with Black Sesame Paste. They tasted okie but they sure lack the punch. Hardly could taste the difference between the 2 ecept for the colour.


Our Verdict : Go Tong Shui for the ambience and perhaps their Yuan-Yang ( Tea with Coffee ). For food, perhaps you will have a better experience than we had.

TCC-The Coffee Connoisseur

1 Kim Seng Promenade, #01-29 Great World City
Postal : 237994
Phone : 6737 3317
Fax : 6737 4177 Business Hours:
Sunday to Thursday & Public Holidays - 8am to 11pm
Friday, Saturday & Eve of Public Holidays - 8am to 1.30am


We particulary love this outlet at Great World City for it's ambience and excellent customer service. The later of which is almost unheard of in recent years.

TCC-Great World City, tucked away from the bustling of human traffic, located at Level 1 of the Podium wing. Certainly not a place to see and be seen. How many such stores are there left around?

Our visits often brings us new and pleasant surprises. With an extensive menu from mains to starters to ice-blend coffees, designers coffees, hot beverages, desserts...we were spoilt for choices. I just don't understand why the cakes weren't in the menu thou. Have to walk to the counter just to see what's available.

GF had the Sea of Passion. Simply a glass of 7-up/ sprite mixed with pureed raspberries. However as simple as it looks, the drinks turns out pretty good. I kind of like their effort in putting the mint leaf on. It, in my opinion, lifts the image of the drink to another level.

Some more of the drinks we had at TCC-Great World City


A cup of ice water - promptly served after seated.

Devil's Chocolate - A very unique creation. Love it all except for the raspberry cream in between the cake and the moose. Too sour for my liking.

Sea of Gold - Sprite with tangy mango.

Dusk - Coke with raspberry.



23rd July 2006 - Update