Dare to dream,Live the dream

Maxwell Fish Soup

Friday, May 31, 2013 | 7:00 pm | 0 comments

Maxwell Food Center is one of my favourite places in the entire world.

All the amazing hawker food housed under one roof.

The most comforting thing is that even if all my second/third favourite fish soup stalls have closed down, the one at Maxwell will always be there, rain or shine!

The first time I tried this many years ago, I was completely mind-blown.

It was THAT good.

I love a milky soup base for my fish soup, but not many places are able to do it well.

The soup base here was so flavourful and intense, you can't help but finish the entire bowl.

There is always a long queue, regardless of peak/off-peak hours.

With soup that awesome, it's no wonder people are always craving for this!

Verdict: 5/5

I'm a hugeeee fan of fish soup.

Having tried a gazillion places' fish soup, I can tell you this place serves up the very best.

I hate queuing, but I am willing to queue for this bowl of wonderful concoction.

Jing Hua Sliced Fish Bee Hoon

Stall 77 Maxwell Road Food Centre

11am to 8.30pm

Thursday Closed

Labels: Food, May 2013

Travel Taiwan: Feng Jia Night Market

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 | 5:22 pm | 0 comments

When people mention TaiChung, the first thing that usually comes to mind is FENG JIA NIGHT MARKET!

Well, that's my reaction too. And coincidentally my good friend was in Taiwan at the same time and he visited Feng Jia before me. It was his first night market in Taiwan and it left him with a good impression, so I thought this place could be worth a visit.

Despite the crowd, I didn't have trouble navigating the streets. It was a pretty cooling night, so there are occasional breezes. Overall, it's pretty airy.

First stop near the entrance, found this amazing stall selling deep friend chicken cutlet with a generous serving of salad. You get free refills of salad in your choice of dressing. The chicken was juicy and tender, the breaded crumbs were a deep golden brown and very very crispy. The accompanying salad added a nice touch to the dish, and it balanced out the oiliness a little. Overall, it's a very satisfying dish, and I really love the fresh salad. Yummy.

Chanced upon this and it looked really interesting so we gave it a go!

The giant pork knuckles roasting over the spit was way too alluring and tempting. We picked the original salt and pepper flavour so it wouldn't mess with the original flavour of pork.

I'm so glad we tried this, because it's so good!

Roasted corn on the cob, we chose CURRY flavour.

It was drenched in flavourful curry powder, and the corn was burst-in-your-mouth juicy.

One of my favourite food at Feng Jia is most definitely this!!

Been looking high and low for this since I landed in Taiwan, I am soooo glad I finally found them!

The skin was very thin, and the cabbage inside was so sweet and juicy. Be careful not to let the juice dribble all over your chin while eating this! Must-try if you're a fan of 生煎包!

We bought a box of Toppoki to eat back at the hotel.

This was piping hot with chewy Korean ricecakes, a huge boiled egg and slices of carrots.

The Korean spicy sauce was just the right balance of salty, sweet and spicy.

Verdict: 4/5

For the most famous night market in TaiChung, it sure didn't disappoint, but it didn't surprise either.

Overall, the food served there was up to standard. Worth a visit if you're in the vicinity!

Labels: Food, Lifestyle, May 2013

Travel Taiwan: Yi Zhong Night Market

Saturday, May 25, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

One of my favourite night markets. This one is really bustling with the vibrant student energy, lots of cheap clothes, good food, and it's quite airy and spacious too!

This wasn't the super famous one, because I think the famous stall had a 30 person long queue.

Brother wanted to try this and he said it's not too bad.

I'm not a fan, but I took a bite just to taste.

Not bad la, the Taiwan sausage was pretty juicy.

I cannot stress enough how juicy and delicious the fruits in Taiwan are.

This one featured above is PINK GUAVA.

Tell me, how many of you have actually SEEN a pink guava in real life?

You haven't right?!

Most of you have only drink Pink Guava Juice and seen the pictures on the juice bottle packaging.

Lemme tell you, pink guava is 10x nicer than normal guava.

Or it could be me being biased because I love the pinkish hues lol. In any case, it's very sweet, crunchy and juicy! Must try when you're in Taiwan okay!

Strawberries that looks positively stunning.

Very red, very juicy, very pretty.

I am a hugeeeee fan of mushrooms.

Mushrooms are just so healthy and full of goodness for you.

Of course, after deep-frying, it's not healthy anymore hahahaah but I still love it.

There are 3 types of mushrooms here, and we got the mixed bag.

The one on top is 香酥菇，which is your usual Chinese mushrooms, and the fairer one is 杏鲍菇. It tasted kinda like fishcake! Kinda chewy. Quite like the texture cuz it's something different from the norm.

Enoki Mushrooms 金针菇 are probably one of my favourite out of the 3 types!

Enoki mushrooms are so versatile, I usually eat them in soups, hotpots and they're soooo good.

We went back for 2 more cups in less than 20 minutes, and it was so paiseh but the girl recognized us and kept laughing. But the service was so good, she remembered that I didn't want any ice and even the sugar level I liked.

WHY THE TAIWANESE HAVE SUCH GOOD SERVICE?!

I felt so spoiled with the awesome service there, and then I came back to Singapore...

and I doubt I need to explain further about the state of our customer service here.

You know, I know, we know how bad it is here. Geez.

Oh wait, I think the worst I experienced was in China, so ok Sg at least you're better than China. (Not much of a consolation I think haha!)

Verdict: 5/5

I give this place 5 Charlottes because it is really very very awesome!

Labels: Food, Lifestyle, May 2013

Food For Thought @ Botanic Gardens

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 8:00 pm | 0 comments

HALF WORKS

inclusive of scrambled eggs, hashbrown, salad, bacon and toast.

Customized version: Replaced toast with sauteed button mushrooms

The unique thing about Food for Thought's hashbrown is that it comes in bite-sized balls.

I love their scrambled eggs, very fluffy and rich. Best thing is the eggs have this very homemade flavour as compared to Wild Honey's version.

What I also love about this place is the dish customization option that's offered to all customers.

I don't usually eat toast, and I don't really like toast especially the super thick ones like they serve here.

So I have the option of switching the toast for the sauteed garlic mushrooms without any extra cost. :)

So basically what you see above, is my ideal of what a good brunch should resemble.

I would like to replicate something like this at home!

FULL WORKS

inclusive of scrambled eggs, toast, sauteed button mushrooms, meatballs, hashbrown, bacon, salad

RH's choice of brunch dish.

Verdict: 4/5

Very homely comfort food.

Having tried a number of brunch places, I must say Food for Thought really appealed to to the homebody in me. The food they serve up is really no-frills comfort food. Coupled with the location of being nestled in the lush greenery of Botanic Gardens, I feel so tempted to just kick back with a book and lounge there while I slowly savour the food.

1 Cluny Road

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Tanglin Gate, #B1-00

S259569.

Labels: Food, May 2013

Travel Taiwan: Sun Moon Lake

Sunday, May 19, 2013 | 5:26 pm | 0 comments

Yes I know, somehow I typed in a wrong word and I didn't save the PS version.

AHHHHH. KILL ME NOW.

No, not going to edit because I'm lazy like this. But I shall slot in another nice header/banner photo for this post, to make up for that typing error.

Tadahhhhh!

I think this is a good enough replacement.

Quite pretty, if I say so myself.

Our resort is a log house!!!

With a hugeeeee Christmas tree too.

The lobby, and every level has this waiting area that faces the lake.

Is the view stunning or what?!

Pool table for the guests.

I failed terribly at this game.

A mini gym, but apparently the treadmills can't seem to work.

Beyond this area is the sauna room.

A pool, but nobody is swimming, mainly because it's very cold.

The hallways are so pretty,

Welcome to our room.

It's a loft.

AMAZING.

Toilet looks very posh.

The steps were a little bit scary, no railings ones.

But quite exciting, we leaped down from the stairs and bounced off the bed HAHA.

Very juvenile behaviour but oh so fun.

Slanted ceiling because we're on the topmost level.

At night you can actually hear the wood breathing, and it's a very peaceful and calming sound.

This is the view from our room.

Fantastic.

The parents' room.

THEY HAVE A BALCONY.

AND LOOK AT THE VIEW!

Million dollar view from their balcony.

Utterly breathtaking.

The sky is so blue, the lake so peaceful, the air so cool, and the sun is so warm.

Heaven on earth.

This is how the resort looks like at night, I think it looks absolutely lovely and tranquil.

We ventured to the pier after dinner, and I managed to snap this amazing night view of the hotel from across the lake.

Breakfast at the hotel was AMAZING.

The spread was unbelieveable.

I ate 2 servings because the food was too good.

All these are for porridge, I ate 2 bowls of porridge because I love their side dishes of lotus roots and vegetables. So appetizing!

Something interesting, dish of the far left is actually....

PIG'S EARS.

I was pretty grossed out by the name, but then I tried a small bite and it was fantastic!

Very crunchy, and the marinate was pretty well-done. Spicy and a little sweet.

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Turning left after we exit the hotel, we went down the road all the way until at the end. there's a small alley that indicates they have 臭臭锅 (which is really just steamboat la) if we go in that direction.

So we did and we ended up here.

Found some food places along this stretch of road.

I forgot what's the name of the restuarant, but it's the first shop on your immediate right when you reach the end of the alley slope. They have a fish tank and all sorts of vegetables on display.

Wild Boar Meat is not really to my taste.

Too much fat and too tough.

Local vegetables are the best because they taste so fresh.

Three Cup Chicken redefined by the Taiwanese, these are soooooooo delicious.

Your average homecooked dish - Radish Omelette or more affectionately known as the Cai Por Egg.

A bit too salty for my liking, but still pretty good.

Vegetables in Taiwan are all immensely fresh and crunchy.

Thumbs up!

Verdict: 4/5

This shop can be found on the busier stretch of roads in the town.

Dinner was settled here.

This tofu, though on the oily side, tasted fantastic!

Silky smooth and slightly charred, it's just amazing.

The Taiwanese are like the Japanese, they can turn anything into tempura style.

Deep-fried mushrooms are so delish, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Dip them in the salt-pepper dip to enjoy a different flavour.

Bamboo shoots, crunchy, fresh and flavourful.

My favourite dish of the night!!!!

This is one of the recommendations by the boss.

This is fish and it's just crazy delicious stuff. The sauce is a little sweet, kinda like 糖醋.

The fish is fresh and sweet, and together with the sauce, this is a kickass combination.

I forgot the name of the dish, but just show the boss this picture, he'll know.

Verdict: 4/5

Exploring the bustling streets in the morning before checking out.

And we met this super nice boss who sells Sun Moon Lake specialty - Assam Red Tea!

He says pearls are free, so I said yes to adding pearls lolol.

Then while I was snapping a shot of the stall, he posed and smiled! HAHA, so candid!

Oh and in case you were wondering, the red tea was awesome.

This is Taiwan's version of Tao Huey, don't ask me why there are so many things inside.

I vaguely recall there's barley and green bean and something.

The skies at Sun Moon Lake are ever-changing. An hour can make a difference, one moment you have fluffy white clouds and the next they're all gone.

The next time I go there, I'm going to ride a bike around or at least take the damn boat ride.

We did none and it was such a regret.

The view at Sun Moon Lake is really breathtakingly amazing.

Took a walk to the pier and tadahhhh spotted our log house resort sitting atop the lake.

The cable cars! No I didn't ride the cable car either.

Basically just depended on my legs while I sightsee.

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So with that concludes my Sun Moon Lake tour.