Coffee Bean Breakfast AGAIN

wake me up before you go-go.

i am a big breakfast person. i can have scramps for dinner but if breakfast isn't at least an enjoyable affair, i can get grouchy. i have been break-king a lot of coffee bean's of late. why? basically because it is just about everywhere and somehow starbucks just does NOT measure up to coffee bean's breakfast (or even 'munch') variety.

i always have good memories of coffee bean like before charl left, ade her and i break-ed at the semi-alfresco outlet outside borders. the weather was drizzly and cool- ideal for outdoor munches and i guess i would always have that memory of the three of us dining very new-yorkishly in singapore. perhaps it is the feel of being out-of-state that persuades me to return time and again.

coffee bean has a pretty good variety for breakfast.. waffles, toast, eggs, muffins, and smoked-salmon-&-egg scramble on toast (must try!).. and a bonus they offer free refills of coffee or tea.

though i frequent coffee bean alot, i have only started on this feature thus explaining a lack of photos. also, i am a loyalist- i enjoy what i have and i stick to it, which thus suggests why i have been indulging in their cranberry muffins and ceylon (pronounced 'salon') tea for up to almost three times a week.


coffee tea or me?


i loveeee cranberries! right: apple cinnamon muffin

i will promise to add additional pictures.. probably the salmon-and-egg sramble on toast which is a winner if you like your toast salty and fishy. haha.

Coffee Bean Oreo Cheesecake

i came i oreoed & i concur.

a single slice of coffee bean's oreo cheesecake is baked for two.

by the looks for it, two people can tuck into it and still immensely satisfied & filled. perhaps, two people on a date can share? but since I have not found my sweetener, i decided to join in the fun anyway and had an entire slice to myself. afterall, double the portion, double the fun right?

laden with enough sin to proclaim a real confession, the oreo cheesecake is intensely rich though not overly sweet. unexpectedly smooth, the oreo cookie bits serve as a visual-temptation but are grounded so fine, they seek approvable from those who like their cheesecakes un-crunchy i.e. smooth la. overall, the oreo cheesecake definitely serves its purpose well as comfort food.

to me, it was a little overwhelming as I finished my slice for value's sake. then again, maybe it is a sign that I have to continue holding out for my sweetener.

pardon.

quote of the day.

i am just looking for my equal...
my sweetener.

Savour Bistro / NYDC / SMU dim sum

week 1.

so a week has passed since school commenced. and i do reckon it will be tough to start any readings. yeech.

but i must say i have done a lot for my social over the past week and this is quite a big deal considering how i was SO CLOSE to wining the coverted "SHE"- Summer Hermit Er-ward.

i lunched with wai at some remarkably un-french french bistro called savoir at far east square where we (ok fine i did the bitch work) maxed out over consumer rights by asking the manager ti take back some ordinary-looking hollow calamari when the menu specifically indicated 'stuffed calamari'. feeling unsatisfied, we then popped over nesrby for dessert when wai had oreo milkshake and i made my way through an apple crumble with hazelnut ice cream.

the next day wai crashed smu, not before getting her dose of a traditional 'kaya toast' breakfast. we had brunch at coffee and toast at city hall (which i like better than ya kun).

playing with our food. our mothers would be proud.

mid weeek, i naaned my way through an indian affair with sheryl- whom i have -gasp- known since kindergarden at maharajah curry house along boat quay (gimme pics sher!).

i even met up with secondary school friends-toon, mingxi, liqin, val and zenia.. some whom i have known since primary school and suddenly in a blink of an eye, we were all in university congregating over overpriced desserts at nydc. throughout the night, i realised that amongst the six of us, there was a future architect , doctor, accountant, lawyer, bio-somethingish and businesswoman (me actually). wouldn't it be interested to see what the six of us looked like a couple more years from now. can't hardly wait.

cookie monster mudpie & mango tango (mango ice cream with cheesecake)

i am sure a lot of you have had their desserts... don't the desserts just scream rip-off! first and last time! adieus.

i had breakfast in school last friday and i decided to try out a new eatery called pick and bite, that is situated at the lee ka shing library. i had kaya toast (white bread this time round) and teh o and the meal cost last then it would been in a typical kaya toast outlet. stamp of approval. but what amazed me was the artery-clogging array of dim sum available at 8am in the morning!

(L-R) kaya toast, deep fried soon kueh, shanghai pork bun,
chive dumplings, yam cake and pumpkin cake
and there are others not pictured too like a deep fried yam pastry, carrot cake
and plentiful of baos.

on friday after school, i went to look for yang for lunch and we dined at another cheat-secondary-school-kids (see nydc) sakae sushi.. which i think really made us look at sushi tei in a more reverent light. eck, you just cannot beat sushi tei when it comes the conveyor belt- style resturant. we ate more than we should have off the belt which was a badbad mistake since i was the emcee for st nick's teacher's day dinner at grand corpthorne waterfront.

it is amazing how someone would only call you when she needs help with something. yuck.

safe trip waiii!

wake up people!

hmm i am at QM class now and we are going through self-introduction like name, hobbies, thoughts on the new campus etc.

one thing really bugs me. why are so many here the epitome of a typical self-absorbed singaporean who indulges in his or her favourite pastime- complaining?

thoughts on the new campus-
the campus? i don't think it is very nice lor
i don't like it coz there is no water-cooler
no dustbins
too far from mrt, no sheltered walkway (fyi- a guy said this)
lack of parking
complicated layout.. no focal point to meet up

like hello?! what about the escalators that are equipped with energy saving censors? what about the variety of eateries retailers entertainment centres over us? the sprawling campus space available? what about the quick accessibility towards anywhere?
why are so we preoccupied and consumed by the 'nots' and 'yucks'?
$@#$@ u really want to strangle some people

unextreme makeover!

Warung M Nasir

...a convenient and temporary escape for urbanistas...

Last sunday, FAMILY visited warung a nasi padang outlet at killiey road (next to THE original kopitiam). upon arrival, i somehow reckoned that this warung outlet resembles second-generation prodigal child who has managed to pry away from the safe hands of the older generation.

though the food is tastefully-authentic, new age jazz music (in place of traditional orchestra) plays softly in the background and the vicinity is thankfully equipped with high-tech-energy-consuming fans to minimise sweltering discomfort. apart from a mixed-race couple, there was a young casually-dressed caucasian man had just began tucking into his plate of degustation, with a thick possibly-new york times best seller within reading distance- thus confirming the hip appeal of this warung branch.

where we ordered: (from left to right, top to bottom) assam stingray, chicken rendang, beef rendang, sambal squid, aubergines, sambal goreng, potato balls, ayam goreng and fried eggs sprinkled with onions and cut-chilli (both not featured). notably, the nondescript dishes such as the sambal goreng and aubergines were more exceptional. the rest i would describe as 'endorphins-releasing comfort food' though the fried chicken was a tad dry for my liking so i would say order the chicken rendang if chicken is a must for you.

as you can see, you should probably lay off if your treshold for chillis and spice does not exactly surpass room temperature. haha. be sure to leave space for the kuehs as they provide a suitable finish to the spicy meal.

...be sure to leave space for the kuehs- sweet touch to a tantalizing meal..

another plus point is how though warung is situated in town, it manages to escape from the overwhelming hustle that traps too many town- eateries(though you will definitely be tempted to venture back to takashimaya to walk off the calories). furthermore, it is not easy to find nasi padang outlets that are conducive enough for meetings or just chilling, thus this is a great hideout for anyone as the location and great food provide a convenient and temporary escape for urbanistas.

hello.

first day of school

SLOWSLOWSLOW!
nothing to report.

how much for that A in the window.

oh yes, yang did amazingly fantastic for her a levels!

now she can go to durham to read economics and join her belly-dancing/ mahjong clubs!

it is really quite funny when you think of 1. how desperate and anxious my mum was yang received his lacklustre o levels results and 2. how the only other person in my family to ahieve such a fantastic score was my mugaholic super-focus power-lawyer-to-be elder sister.

i am going to spend all my money sending my kids to ctc in the future. haha.

as the epical baking journey continues:

green tea pound cake

the above was suppose to look like this ok, now i am embarressed but but but, it tasted pretty good despite the fact that i realised i was missing eggs halfway through baking (see what the lack of planning does to you) but through the evergreen wonders of the internet, i was able to ind a substitute for eggs [through water and ?!baking powder?!]

and this i call
the frozen oreo brownie.

one bite is all it takes to send your adrenaline shooting through the roof. i wonder if this could be considered an illegal suplement for the olymics.

Peach Garden

haute in the sort-of-heartlands.

my mum did not believe me when i told her that peach garden had opened their second outlet at thomson plaza. now i do not really blame her since we have seen only too many popular-in-town retailers arrive-in-gusto, only to leave with their sorry tails caught between their legs when business fails- starbucks was a classic example.

but any.oh.how, having been to the outlets at now-defunct-bedok and still-thriving-novena, we decided to give peach garden "tp" (jimmy's cool acronym for thomson plaza) our fullest support! and boy did they NOT disappoint.

jimmy eagerly anticipating while mum decides to pay tribute to her evergreen pose.

my failing impressionist of a dory fish. very unpretty. i should use this photo on some lovematch website.. haha.

democracy was in full swing as each of us got to choose a dish of our desire. writer's note: dad was in perth. -wink. and i got to choose two! well, basically because they were both appetizers.

presenting crispy eggplant with pork floss and deep-fried beancurd with diced garlic. the beancurd was predictably good but forgettable. t-o-f-u wad... but the pork floss and eggplant combination was simply my-oh-my! we all know the abusal rate of pork floss in the use of pastries but with eggplant?! seconds please~

hot and sour soup (h&ss) was delightful and very possibly one of the better h&ss thay i have tasted in chinese resturants. here you are thankfully spared the agony of overstarchiness preexisting in unethical chinese resturants. hmph.

mum went for the wasabi-prawns. the prawns were pan-fried and generously coated with a layer of what-esle-but-wasabi. i cannot really comment on this since i am no-fan of wasabi (having been through too many nose-churning sensations) but this was pleasantly executed and i believe fang liked it alot which says alot for someone who is high on fuss on what she eats.

a dish ever present on our peach garden dining table would have to be the braised beef in claypot. the beef was unapologetically tender and just imagine a spoonful of smeared gravy all over your rice ..irressistable! fang's choice was this 3-egg with vegetable dish which cost the same as the wasabi prawns?! health-food. period.

feeling adventurous, we ordered this "fish noodle with kung-pao venison" dish off the menu. now there seemed to be so many things wrong with the name of the dish 'fish' 'kung-pao' 'venison' along same line? i almost had to heave a sigh of relief when it entered our dining premises. ok so the texture of the 'fish noodles' felt like spagetti, which i strongly suspect is, but i really enjoyed this dish. out of relief? out of pure enjoyment? still trying to figure it out. order this if you ain't no fan of bambi. yeeks, did i just say that?

on the whole, peach garden lives up to its name and c'mon if it is good enough for the guy who used to sign our dollar bills (yes, we saw richard hu and family!), it practically is good enough for you.