331. Canton-i

Caramelized Cashew Nuts @$3.50/dish

Munch some cashew nuts while you wait for your main course. At first I thought it was walnuts but no it wasn't. 2 servings were served.

Prawn Wanton Mee @$7.80

Canton-i's signature dish. The texture of the noodles were different from those we could get in Singapore. It was made the Hong Kong taste. But, it came as a big disappointment. The noodles though with a tinge of tangyness, was too dry.

Twin combination of duck and roasted pork

The portion was too pathetic.

Abalone Porridge @$17

It was made slightly more runny instead of the thick type which we usually have that would have stuck on to your spoon. It was good but too costly.

Beef Brisket Noodles @$7.80

The beef brisket was good but the same thing with the noodles. I think they should have added more sauce to the noodles. Too dry.

Seafood Fried Rice

Eat Faster! The hotpot was so hot that you should eat with a fast pace to prevent the rice from being burnt. And with this, the rice became dry and hard, drowning the tastes of the fried rice.

Roasted Duck Noodles @$7.80

The praise for the roasted duck laid in the skin. It was very crispy and not so much of fat. I supposed the fats was melted off.

Overall bill worked out to be about $112 for 5 pax. I lost the receipt so I couldn't remember the cost of some of the dishes. We had tea which came at $3 per pax. In my opinion, paying $112 to have just noodles and porridge was too expensive. What's more, the food we had were pretty normal, not so much to the extent to make me return for the second time.

Someone said the higher level in Ion you go, the pricier it gets. Canton-i is located on level 3, standing together with Marmalade Pantry and other big retail brands.

Canton-i
2 Orchard Turn
#03-14
ION Orchard
Tel: 6509 8368

330. Sofra Turkish Cafe & Restaurant

Sesame Bread @$3.80

Ka-bom....the bread seemed like it was blasted. Topped with sesame seeds, the sesame bread was served warm and even without any hummus, it was still good.

Vine Leave Roll @$4.40

Bro got puzzled and thought the vine leaves could not be eaten. Hey, how could it be? If the vine leaves are to be unwrapped from the measly bits of glutinous rice and pine nuts, what is left to 'nibble' on? We are not hamsters eh. The vine leaves looked sturdy like the lotus leaf but no, it was actually very soft. It was like eating fresh seaweed wrapped with glutinous rice.

Sofra Fish @$14.60

It wasn't dory fish as stated on the menu but tilapia. Drenched in the tomato base, fats from the tilapia fish made the sauce oily. Lemon was added and I felt it was a tad too sourish.

Beyti Kebap @$16.50

We opted for chicken fillings. Again, tomato sauce was drizzled over the kebap but less the sourness. A highly recommended dish by the waitress but disappointment set in after having a bite. Somewhat I felt the taste of the kebap would have been more evident without the tomato sauce. Where's my mayonnaise?

Doner Kebap Rice @$8.50

The chicken had a nice smoky flavour that complemented with the slightly sticky rice. To balance the meal, a generous portion of the chunky bits of salsa accompanied the chicken kebap.

We also ordered Turkish iced apple tea @$2.80 each which tasted a tad too sweet and we had to add water to make it not-so-sweet. Overall bill was about $68+ for 5 pax. We shared 3 mains. It seemed like Turkish food used a considerable amount of tomatoes. As much as it is a healthy green, having too much of it at a go will just dampen the desire for more tastes.

Sofra Turkish Cafe & Restaurant
100 Beach Road #02-42/43/44
Shaw Tower Shaw Leisure Gallery
Singapore 189702
Tel: 6291 1433

329. Curry On!

(Mr Anil & partner Pamela)

About a week ago, I got an email invitation from Mr Anil to taste his curries at his newly opened stall - Curry On!

Curry On! focuses on just 3 kinds of curries. The recipes were passed down by Mr Anil's mum.

Eat your mutton chop curry with briyani (@$1.20).

Curry On!'s briyani appeared different from the briyani which we have seen at the Indian stalls. As we all know, in Singapore, we are accessible to a mix of the Northern and Southern Indian food. Curry On! is from the Northern. Their briyani was dressed in a lighter coat. Less yellowish and lighter in taste. But not any less aromatic.

Mutton Chop Curry @$5

Treat yourself to mouth-watering tender mutton chops drenched in the curry which has no coconut milk. Even without coconut milk, the curry gravy was thick. Mr Anil said their curries were cooked using their own mix of freshly made curry paste every morning.

The briyani worked perfectly well with the heavy taste of the mutton chop curry. And one thing I have noticed about the briyani was it was not oily. The achar was very good!

Chicken Curry @$4.80

Or you can eat your curry with plain rice or baguette.

Mutton Rib Dalcha @$5.50

Something special on the menu. This curry contained coconut milk and tamarind. Tamarind made the curry with a subtle finish of sourness at the back of the throat. It worked perfectly well with a bowl of plain rice or baguette. The chunky ribs exuded a strong aroma with fats on the meat melted into the curry. For the mutton lovers, you would not want to miss this lip-smacking curry. Mutton ribs for just $5.50 was a great deal!

Never mind the high calories, eat with gleeful abandon! Eat Curry On!

Thanks to Mr Anil & Pamela for the hosting!

Curry On!
7th Mile Coffeeshop
Blk 18 #01-97
Toh Yi Drive
Singapore 590018

328.Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant

The slow music complemented the dining ambience and later into the night as we lazed on the cozy sofa, drinking chilled beers and clinking of beer bottles livened the ambience. The singers decided to sing songs of faster tempo. It is a nice to chill-out place.

Rosco de Cerdo (Chef's crispy pork leg with romesco sauce)

OcKtober Fest Platter @$49.90++ with 2 pints of Erdinger beer

I was attracted to the the big and crispy pork knuckles that were sizzling quietly inside the heat ventilated transparent cabinet. The chef with his small station at the Al fresco area quickly came over to ask if we wanted a portion. "Yes, please."

OcKtober Fest Platter included sausages, pork knuckle and 2 pints of Erdinger beer which seemed like a good deal, so we ordered this.

The skin of the pork knuckle was very crispy and it went ka-cha, ka-cha as we bit into it. Dip a little honey mustard over, it was mama-mia~ Must-try!

Erdinger. After a pint each, we ordered another jug (@$42) which gave each another pint. Still not enough, we ended the night with another bottle of koghi (@$10++).

Paella Valenciana @$40 (for 2 persons)

A winning signature dish. It stated for 2 persons on the menu. When it was placed on our table, we stared at the paella for a while. The portion was small, just nice for 1. Served with onion cream, the taste was just mediocre. I still preferred the paella from Marche.

Total bill cost us $222+, with AMEX card comes 15% disc. So, total bill was just $200 for 4 pax. The range of food is not so wide but I felt most of the diners were there to drink and relax than to eat.

Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant
#01-98/99 VivoCity
Singapore 098585
Tel: 6376 8185

327. Mooncakes 2009

All the atriums in the shopping malls or rather whatever space you can see had been taken up to sell mooncakes. And in recent years, other than the taste of the mooncakes, the packaging also played a vital role. As much as many people still regard Da Zhong Guo's mooncakes as the most traditional ones, people are eventually giving in to the presentation of the mooncakes. The mid-autumn festival is not just about reunion. I felt from the careful choosing to buying and giving of mooncakes showed the sharing spirit.

Tomorrow is mid-autumn festival but for the past 2 weeks, I have been eating mooncakes. Lucky enough, I managed to eat mooncakes made from different hotels. But, I was more interested in their packaging.

Carlton Hotel

Carlton's walnut mooncakes were the size of scones. With the addition of the walnuts and a small amount of lotus paste filling in the mooncake made it stand out different from the others. Crunchy and yet not too dry. Mid-Autumn festival is a Chinese celebration. Appeared in an octagonal container, did Carlton Hotel get their idea from the Chinese's octagonal mirror?

St Regis Hotel

"Who stole my jewellery box" ? St Regis came out with an exquisite two-layered box for their mooncakes. It's like storing mooncakes in tingkat. The box with its gold exterior speaks of elegance and magnanimous.

Ritz Carlton Hotel
Going for the arts, Ritz Carlton Hotel presented their mooncakes with the auspicious loud red colour and a painting. Simple and yet presentable.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel

The China Club

The baked mooncakes from The China Club were pretty good. Though smaller in size, the crust was not too thin and not very oily. The China Club's packaging caught my attention the most. Everyone was fanscinated by the orange box that was made like a lomo camera, with mooncakes kept in drawers at the back and the front had a pull-out that exposed a photo. As much as DSLR is the 'one' now, the orange box kept me pretty occupied for a while. So cute. It was very well-made. The box was solid-hard and even had screws screwed at the handle. You know where was your money spent on?