TOSS & TURN @ ION ORCHARD

Location: ION Orchard B4 Food Level

How to get there: Orchard Mrt Station 

Opening Hours: 1100am - 2200pm daily

Contact: 6636 5835

Hi all!!! May&FJ went for a little hike today with Joey and Phyllis around the Punggol Park Connector today. The weather wasn't being too friendly, hence we stopped half way instead of going further. We've walked about close to 4.5 hours by then. Not a bad for a workout under the rain. It's actually a rather nice walk; you peeps can consider walking as a form of exercise as well.

Anyways, May&FJ recently visited Toss&Turn @ Orchard Ion. It's a Salad, Sandwich and Soup concept by Cedele. Customers actually get to design their own salad. We were there at lunch hour, this place was filled with the working people and the queue was soooooo long; they even ran out of plates so they had to serve customers using the take-away plates. Here's a sneak on their menu. Both of us decided on designing our own "Salad" for $9 each, hence we paid $18 in total. The reason why we say it's a "salad" because instead of having a vegetable base, we had a cold pasta base. So it wasn't actually a salad literally.

FJ's "Salad":

• Consists of: Cold Pasta as a base, Sauteed Mushrooms and 4 marinated Prawns for deli/protein, and Onions and Carrots for Vegetables. 

May's "Salad":

• Consists of: Cold Pasta as base, Smoked Ham and 4 Marinated Prawns as deli/protein, and carrots and half boiled egg for vegetables.

Advantages:

• The cold pasta mixed with sesame seeds and black pepper was very delicious. They give a huge portion of it, so you're actually quite full. (May was SUPER full, and she never gets full that easily.)
• They were very generous with the smoked ham. It was slightly salty when eaten on it's own. It's perfect when paired with the cold pasta.
• The prawns were well cooked and marinated with black pepper. 
• The Sauteed Mushrooms came in a very reasonable portion and they were actually very tasty! 
• They actually provide you 5 dressings of salad on the side table: Pomegranate, Honey Mustard, Balsamic, Vinegar and  Cream/Mayo. Mixed seeds for the salad were also provided: Sesame seed, Melon seeds, Sunflower seeds etc. You can take as much as you want, because it's self-service!
• All items sold in nett price.

Disadvantages:

• The amount of prawns were too little, should have given a little more, maybe 6?
• They do not serve you generous servings of vegetables with an exception of carrots and corn. (May I also take the time to tell you all that if you intend to go on a diet, corn is definitely not your favourite vegetable in your vegetable list. It is high in carbo and vegetable fats.) We took the time to notice other people's orders, a lady beside me only had 3 pieces of Japanese Cucumber and a couple of Paprika Sticks. They should have been more generous with the cucumber at the very least!
• A side note on the Pomegranate sauce, it's kinda sweet so if you consume it in large amounts, you'd get sick of your salad very quickly.

Toss & Turn at this outlet do actually sell cakes as well. They looked good! Overall, May&FJ were actually quite happy with our "Salads". It is one place we would definitely make another trip down again and maybe this time try their given salads instead of customizing one; they looked sooooooooooo good.

That's all for our review! Till next time, see ya! Have a Merry Christmas!

<3 May&FJ

Christmas 2013

      

I can gladly say that I did both this time round instead of either one:)

Christmas is the time of the year where I happily throw money to buy gifts for my friends, family and myself, and where I await to receive lovely gifts too:)

Met up with my usual peeps this Christmas with 2 new members^^ There's no need to throw a lavish party in order to have a great christmas, all we had was steamboat at my crib and a greaaaaat company that could laugh and joke with one another about the past~talk stupid jokes and crack up at our own silly actions~thats the best part of christmas! Just sitting down and laugh~Oh boy did i laugh!

We did a deodarant commercial (to protect my friend's identity im nt giving much away) all I can say is, that was the highlight of the night! Sooooo funnei!!!! Hahahahahas!

Of course giving gifts have also been a tradition for our group. I have friends who fret over gifts to friends who confidently know what gifts to get. But it's always the thought that counts, whether you're running up and down to get the perfect gifts or whether you try your best in hand making something your friends will know your sincerity and accept that gift with great joy:) My dear friends got me lovely gifts; each I love and appreciate ^^

I also believe in rewarding myself for a year's worth of work and effort for my studies and part time jobs:) So i went on a shopping spree^^

Mango had a massive sale so I bought a pair of shorts at 50% discount! Also visited faceshop and bought myself their BB Cream which is the ultz and a concealer which does wonders~for a girl who always have spots on her face she has to cover, these two are really good! Spent a good $100 in total~but all in the name of christmas:)

Also, Handwritten cards are something I look forward to during christmas! Love all the cards I have received thus far:)

I am a blessed girl with awesome friends and family:) 

Have a great christmas lovelies:) May this christmas bring you joy, love and laughter <3

<3 FJ

FUKUICHI JAPANESE DINING @ TRIPLE ONE SOMERSET

Location: Triple One Somerset #02-11/12
How to get there: Somerset Mrt Station Exit A, once you reach this exit, turn right and follow the sheltered pathway. It will lead you to a office/shopping mall building. Walk up and walk towards the "Shops" section. 
Opening Hours: 
Daily: 1200pm - 1500pm
          1800pm - 0000am
Contact Number: 6271 5586

HELLO!!! May&FJ are back with our new review on Fukuichi Japanese Dining. I have read about it before and have been pestering May to try! And yes! We were there after Phyllis ended her exams and had craving for sashimi ^^.

We ordered: a Shake Aburi Maki ($22), a Sushi Teishoku Lunch Set ($20) and a Shake Sashimi Udon Teishoku Lunch Set ($18). The lunch set menu comes with a dessert (Vanilla Mochi) too. We spent about $75 in total. 

Lunch menu:

Ala Carte Menu:

Shake Aburi Maki:

• Consists of: Seared Salmon, Salmon Roe, Crab Meat, Avocado and Cucumber.
• Salmon was well seared.
• The crab meat provided a sweet taste to it.
• However, this dish does not warrant $22. Koh Grill & Sushi Bar provides a better rendition at a MUCH better price. 

Sushi Teishoku Lunch Set:

• The tangy sesame sauce complimented the greens in the salad. The corn provided the sweet taste.
• The udon was normal, there was nothing much to comment on it.
• The flying fish roe maki had uber fresh flying fish roe! It pops in your mouth.
• The fresh fish sushi consists of: Salmon, Yellow Tail, Prawn, Squid and Tuna. (We changed the Tuna to Salmon as none of us enjoy the bloody aftertaste the tuna has) 
• The tamago was really sweet.
• The chawanmushi had sufficient amount of Dashi stock. It comes with mushroom slices and a piece of chicken. It tasted slightly different from the normal chawanmushi though; but in a good way.
• This is one Lunch set to recommend you all to try! Definitely your money's worth!

Shake Sashimi Udon Teishoku Lunch Set:

• The tangy sesame sauce complimented the greens in the salad. The corn provided the sweet taste.
• The udon was normal, there was nothing much to comment on it.
• It had 5 THICK slices of super fresh Sashimi. It kinda melts in your mouth!
• Their century egg tofu is something we HIGHLY recommend you all to TRY IT! The century egg sauce is very thick and the chopped spring onions provided the crunch. They have included a generous portion of crab meat into this dish which provided a sweet taste and it added a contrast to the savory century egg sauce.
• Another lunch set to go for ^^

A little on the disadvantages would be their service staffs. They were definitely not the most helpful nor the most courteous staff. They just glide next to the tables and lifted the plates away without a "May I clear this?" or " May I?". We had a miscommunication over the lunch set where we told them we would like the tuna replaced with salmon; they mistook that and thought that we wanted another set but this time without the tuna. So they brought us 3 sets instead of 2.

But I guess we gotta applaud them for having the initiative to serve the dessert last.  

Overall, we feel that their ala carte menu is on the expensive side. However, their lunch set menu is one to consider if you are looking for quality and cheap Japanese food. 

That's all from May&FJ today:) The start of the week is nearing! Till the next food post! Ciao~

<3 May&FJ

VICTOR'S KITCHEN @ SUNSHINE PLAZA // SINGAPORE BIENNALE 2013

Location: Sunshine Plaza #01-21 Singapore 189652

How to get there: Douby Ghaut Mrt Station. Exit at Red Line's exit. Walk to the Grand Cathay, then walk to NAFA. You can see the Singapore Pools from where you are and Sunshine Plaza is straight ahead.

Opening Hours:

Tues - Sun: 1030am - 2000pm

Contact Number: 9838 2851

HOWDY LOVELIES! Happy Friday!! Recently the weather has been CRAZILY CRAZY! It's either scorching hot or raining cats and dogs. Hopefully none of your plans got cancelled or re-scheduled thanks to it.

It's kinda like exam week for many local university students now, MAY&FJ wish you peeps all the best in your papers. May the bell curve be in your favor!!!!Perhaps when your exams have ended, you peeps might wanna visit Victor's Kitchen for a reasonably cheap after-examinations celebration.

Getting on Victor's Kitchen. An old friend of mine introduced it to me and told me that it has this AWESOME Liu Sha Bao that I should give it a go. Went once with him and since then I have been telling my dear May that this is one place that we should definitely do a review on! And~~~we were there on a faithful Wednesday.

We've ordered 2 Liu Sha Bao/Salted Egg Bao baskets (J,$4.50/basket), Nemo Porridge (U,$4.50), Ha Gao/Giant Prawn Dumplings (A,$5/basket), You Tiao Chee Chong Fun (X,$4.50), Fresh Chicken with Wolfberry fruit and Rosey Wine Steam Rice (L,$4.50), Scallop sausage Carrot Cake with XO sauce (C,$4.50) HK Summer Ice Tea ($3) and 1 hot Chrysanthemum Tea ($1.50) and 1 cold Chrysanthemum Tea ($2) . We paid about $39 in total. Here's their menu!

Liu Sha Bao/Salted Egg Bao:

• This was my personal favorite! I have been to Victor's Kitchen before this official trip and I gotta say their Salted Egg Bao left the deepest impression in me. 
• It is super molten and it tastes so good! 
• However, May and our mutual friend felt that the skin was thick and that it was more buttery than the usual. They did prefer to taste more of the salted egg yolk!
• But still give it a go! It's not bad!

 Nemo Porridge:

• It was a little light. Consists of century egg and fish.
• There were not much ingredients in the porridge itself. 
• Not something we would recommend you all.

Ha Gao/Giant Prawn Dumpling:

• The skin is thin and it's exploding with prawns.
• This whole dumpling is very chewy and Q.
• The price is slightly on the high side for dim sum like this, but trust us, this is worth every cent! Try it!!!

 You Tiao Chee Chong Fun:

• Sounds unique? We felt the same as well when we first saw it on the menu!
• It also tastes very unique.
• The crispy You Tiao wrapped in Chee Chong Fun gives the whole dish a very unique texture!
• You all can consider giving it a go!

Seasoned Chicken and Dates Rice:

• The chicken is well seasoned. Quite nice.
• However, the rice itself was rather dry, it makes it very hard for us to swallow.
• So sadly, its not something we'd say you peeps should try.

Scallop sausage Carrot Cake with XO sauce:

• This is by far the best steamed carrot cake we've tried thus far.
• The sauce is very appetizing and the carrot cake is very soft.
• This is definitely something we'd recommend you all to try!

HK Summer Ice Tea:

• Awesome milk tea!
• Unique point: They put their ice outside the cup so as to ensure the thickness of their milk tea.
• As much as that is said, I do not think that this tiny cup warrants the amount paid for. (But I still get every time I visit, because its that good)
• Maybe you peeps can order and share the milk tea! It's worth trying for the first time! As for repeat purchase; I would say that it would be up to your wallet and your willingness to part with $3.

Overall, we would say that Victor's Kitchen is one dim sum place worth the eats and tries. However, we would like to warn you all, they have a tendency to take off days without any pre-hand warning so you might walk alllllllllll the way there for NOTHING. (That happened to us before, so just fyi~)

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After lunch the three of us decided to head down to SAM and the National Museum of Singapore to view the Singapore Biennale 2013 Exhibitions. I have been a fan of the Biennale since two shows back. This time round the scale is smaller and spread out across museums with SAM and National Museum of Singapore housing major exhibitions. I'm gonna upload a couple of pictures enough to entice you all to visit^^

The Singapore Biennale 2013 starts from now all the way till 16 February 2014. Singapore Citizen Students/ Permanent Resident Students, full time NSF, teachers from local schools and Singapore Citizen/ Permanent Resident senior citizens above age 60 gets free admission. Otherwise, Adults ($10) and Foreign Students and Senior Citizens above age 60 ($5). They have their usual thick exhibition booklet for sale/donation at $2 per booklet. It contains all the information of the art pieces displayed and their locations.

Do head down when you are free during your school holidays or your annual break! Love you all! Till the next post!

<3 May&FJ