Curry Times @Novena

Last evening I went to Novena to to do some catching up so we decided to head to Curry Times for dinner. Basically what they sell here is curry. So they have chicken curry, dry curry, beef birskit, they even sell regular entrées like nasi lemak and so fourth. Since we were there we tried their chicken curry, the basics or basic for any curry place in Singapore. The interior design was made to fabricate the scene of the old town in the past where there used to be wooden tables and short stools - common in most places.

We were on budget on that evening and decided to choose a shared meal rather then try many different sorts of curry and dishes. We ordered on of their signature dish the chicken curry for 2 person is S$13, and S$1 for rice. The spicy level of the curry I would say is mild, though then again I love chilli so it was not "serdar ( Malay for spicy and 'shiok' )". The main highlight of their curry would be that it is lighter, because they do not use coconut milk, thus being a healthier choice. The chicken were soft and very easy to handle, quite a generous serving of potatoes which I found surprising.

We also had one of the 'must-try' on their menu, the salmon otah which was S$1.90 a piece. The otah was not great, and you could barely taste the salmon inside as it was very little. It was not spicy and very soft almost in a pasty sort of texture. All prices does not include gst. The cutest part of my experience there was at the payment counter you get to fill up 'your bag' with little cookies that they have there - self-service.

Curry Times is quite a regular place, and I might come back again to try their other dishes especially their curry bun which they said was their most popular.



Curry Times ( Velocity, Novena Square )
Add: 238 Thompson Road
       #20-33/45 Velocity
       Singapore 307683
Tel:  6354 3206
Opening Hours: Daily > 9am - 10pm

Next we went to Yummy Soy for some drinks or at least that was the plan. Apparently their drink is just like their food version. In other words, if it in a cup, you use a straw; a bowl you use a spoon. The beancurd is so soft and smooth that you can just slurp it all up. The original tasted regular, nothing much to comment other then it's texture - light. The lady recommended the hazelnut version but I thought it tastes exactly the same as the original, quite a disappointment. The irish cream though tasted better, I quite like the soya bean taste mixed with irish cream. Regardless in a cup or bowl the original costs S$1.50 and every other flavour costs S$2 or S$2.50 is I remember correctly.

Well, it was a fun day for me and I need to sign ff now to carry on with my work!! Compliments to JS for the photos! =D

Ciao~

Andrea Trinity

Raffles Town Club - Café & Terrace

This post is more suited for members or planning to get the membership of Raffles Town Club because the Café & Terrace is only for members. The price of the food here is marked down as you are already paying for the upkeep of the place with the membership. On the bright side, if you make use of your membership extensively, then it is worth it to head over there to dine. Generally their buffets aren't exactly great in my opinion, but their ala cart is good. In their menu they have both Asian and Western selections of main courses. Usually we would order the usual chicken rice and other times just the sandwiches because they are really good.

I am pretty sure the dishes are at S$9 each, though I didn't catch the price of the Hainanese Chicken Rice. We started out with the Rojak which was quite nice, the ingredients were all crunchy and  the pineapples were really sweet. Next we had our three main courses - Hainanese Chicken Rice, Beef Hor Fun and Nasi Goreng.


The beef hor fun is really good, they are very generous with the beef and the beef was cooked just right, wasn't too chewy. I liked the gravy, it doesn't have this strange fake-like after taste like some hor fun sauce have. I had never tried their hor fun before and I definitely recommend this.

The Nasi Goreng had always been one of my favourite whenever I eat there. The rice is spicy and I really liked it with the fried chicken skin and egg .... mmmhhhh yummy. The rice is also rather plain tasting, as in it isn't very grand as stand alone, but I love it that way because I would eat it with the other food so that my mouth won't be too confused with too many different tastes.

The Hainanese Chicken Rice, I didn't get to taste it today but from the review of the person eating it, it was great, licked up every grain of rice and finished the chicken breast meat.

We had ordered the mock-tails as well - Strawberry fruit punch and Raffles fruit punch ( I think those were their names ). It was a total disappointment. Some were too sour, and two of them were diluted. I it better to order a regular soft drink which cost around S$4.50 or so.

And finally the desserts were hot cheng teng and banana split. These were just average but they didn't have much choices to decide from. 

If you are a member or have dined here before, tell me how you thought the Asian selection is like to you and if the buffet was great in your opinion!

Ciao ~Andrea Trinity =)

Jewel Box

Since I posted about my picnic, I just thought that I should post about my dinner at Jewel Box way back in December 2012. Basically, Jewel is definitely a lovely place to be for romantic dates. The foods there are really pricey so if you are on a tight budget, there are other romantic restaurants to dine at =) Remember to click on the pictures to get a larger view =) If you are just interested in viewing all the pictures you may head straight here.

[ Jewel Box ]

Since it was quite some time ago, I really can't remember all the food names and prices but basically we ordered 2 different sets - two 3-course set, one 4-course set and a main dish for four people. The ambience was really nice, it's setting is much like a European classy restaurant where the furnishings were of aristocratic taste. The chairs at the far end of the room is more splendid than the tables nearer to the door, and at the side you can view the beautiful harbor. The best time to enjoy the view is truly at sunset where the lights shine in and lights up the room reflecting the wine glasses and cookery - absolutely romantic.

Service is another great aspect of coming all the way up Mount Faber to dine. Their Service is excellent, the waiters were polite and very attentive. They would, as most fine dining restaurants do, have one waiter for your table where he will attend to your every needs when possible.

As I have mentioned, the food is quite pricey, and truth to be told, I didn't like some of the food, but well, that's my opinion =) Also, as stated above, we have a 4-course meal, 3-course meal, and a main dish. It was really sad for my brother because they served accordingly with each course, meaning he had to wait through 5 courses before he got to eat. Plus I didn't help much by having 5-course, taking photos and slowly tasting each bite =p

Starting with the 3-course: The starter was some salmon and bread. I hated it. It tastes just like a block of hard butter with salmon paste mixed together with it, and eating it with the bread wasn't much of a salvation. Followed by the next course - pumpkin soup I believe. The soup was really tasty, slightly sour and yet sweet at the same time. I liked the soup, wiped it clean! Then the main dish was some meat cuts which I am unable to recall, but it was pretty good and quite tasty. Finally the dessert was really nice ( I can't remember what it was ) then the coffee arrived.

The 4-course: The starter was a salad with prawns this one was pretty good, the prawns tasted fresh. I had the same soup as well. My appetizer was a duck dish. Out of all the dishes that night, I loved this the best. The duck had a toufu like texture with strong duck essences, I mean there were tiny meat pieces scattered around but the jellylike toufu had that delicious duck smell. It may sound kind-of put off now but it really tastes good. And my main dish was steak - medium-well. It was really nice as well, but the portion was * ahem * too little! I'm just kidding, portion's alright because I was tasting around the other foods. And finally the dessert for me had a sour taste, not bad but really too much to eat after so many courses and tasting. And of course coffee

And my brother's main dish was steak also medium-well, his steak taste the same as mine except different sauce and tougher than my steak. And we had ordered extra drinks - for me was tropical fruits because I wasn't allowed to drink alcohol - I was the one driving that day ='( And my brother had the hot Chocolate. Speaking of which, the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted was in Spain or Italy where the chocolate was pure flowing chocolate, ahhh .. Truly wonderful though extremely sweet.

Ciao ~

Andrea Trinity =)

Canopy walk to Habour Front Mrt

Different from my usual food posts, today I am going to talk about my picnic trip on a special date for me. If you are just looking for photos and not reading this 'composition' then head over to my photobucket for more pictures! =) If you are interested in my Journey on 26.01.13 Saturday, let's embark on my trip!

First of all, we left at around 9.40 am and finished our Journey at around 4.15 pm. Our route was to start from the Canopy walk and make our way all the way to Vivo city [ Harbour Front MRT station ] where we stopped for our picnic at Hort Park.

[ Entire Trail Map - Click to Enlarge ]

The way to head there for us was really complex because we wanted to start from the Canopy walk which is not easily accessible by bus nor train. And the nearest bus stop we found was on South Buona Vista Road. The only bus number that went there was 200, which leads up to Kent Ridge Park where you can start of the Canopy walk via Vigilante Drive. To arrive at this bus stop, you will alight at the Kent Ridge MRT station from the circle line and take exit B ( I am not sure if I remembered correctly but it should put Science Park ) to bus stop 2 - You will not need to cross the road to take bus 200 and its three stops away to lamppost 30. If you exit from the MRT station at Kent Ridge and see NUH, then turn around and go the opposite way because the bus stop to get to the bus 200 is on the other side. Apologies for the kiddie drawn map ;p

The way that we took gave our starting a steep uphill climb; we were quite tired by the time we reached the park's path that leads to the Canopy Walk. Have no fear fellow trekkers, all the trails have numerous signs to help you place yourself on your map. Most of the time we were walking along some strange road and paths that makes no sense but just further up ahead will be signs, I do believe you won't be able to get lost so easily unless well, if you do then there is always the map applications on your phones to lead you back somewhere! =D

Before starting on the Canopy Walk, we had to go through Kent Ridge Park which is pretty nice, vegetation totally surrounds you. This would definitely be a place to take a nice stroll away from the bustling city where you can feel the wind blowing your face and much sheltered from the sun. Maybe we were pretty early but it was really quiet and peaceful there; other then the sounds of the trees creaking, grasshoppers singing and the occasional birds' call.

The canopy lets you have a nice view just over trees where you may spot monkeys and pretty birds ( we didn't spot any monkeys though =( ) What you will mostly see will be the secondary trees, and to complete this trail only take around 5 minutes. People in wheelchairs would also come here to sightsee and enjoy the company of others.

Next is the Floral walk and Hort park, this place is basically more of a learning place where there are many different plants and flowers to see. You will need to visit the many 'little houses' of plants of which some are hosted by companies that promotes agriculture. Yet again, maybe we were really early ( 11 plus to Noon ) but there weren't many people around the this part of the park. Some of the showcases seem to be in the process of revamp but other then that it was a quiet place. We found a nice cosy spot to have our picnic. Be warned though, some spots have a very strong smell of manure. After our picnic, when you walk further up, there will be a restaurant and cafe, here will be a bit more nosier ( there was a children's party that day ) where you may use the restrooms and refill your bottles.

[ Dor Beetle ]
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk

Oh and there was this one part on the way to the restaurants where there were bushes to our right. Because my partner was carrying the camera at that time and I was staring at the trees to our left that I didn't noticed there were many beetles¿ that were flying about. So when I turned back to ask him something he screamed a little and jumped back, and I got a fright and jumped back too and saw the HUGE bluish-black beetle¿ flew past me. He told me it hit the camera lens as it flew past and gave him a scare, thought it was some bee as it was HUGE. It looked something like this: I do not take credit for this picture

Being so quiet and quite empty you can get up to some naughty woohoo in such a lovely place. But I'm just kidding, though Singapore need to increase the birth-rate, there is no need to get up to such things in the public eyes ( Though papers and magazine has said that these sort of activities boosts birth rate ;p )

Walking straight up onto Alexandra Arch, which I heard is much nicer at night when the lights come on. Well ... it wasn't really pretty in the morning that day. Following on is the Forest Walk, I don't have much to say here because it was so quiet, we couldn’t find any birds at all, it was just exercising our foods off. Then after was the Hilltop walk which unfortunately we didn't explore because my partner at that time wasn't very keen on climbing up with our heavy bags and back down.

Then came Henderson Waves, I would say that Henderson Waves in my mind looks really pretty at night and the most beautiful when it's sunset where the light will reflect the light off its concave interior that would make it rather breathtaking. But in the afternoon, it was just another place to seek shelter from the glaring sun.

I do not take credit for this picture
http://irishprincess365.blogspot.sg/

A really funny thing happened before we walked on Henderson Waves. I was really thirsty because I was already falling sick, so I wanted a sports drink to cool down my throat rather then to drink my homemade Iced-lemon Tea. Therefore I placed my bags down to take out my money, when something bit me, I looked down calmly at first to see a huge red ant on my feet at the end of my socks and shoe tongue and it bit me again. I screamed and shook my leg really hard screaming for my partner to get it off, my bag flew off the log and I stop to see if it got thrown off but it bite onto me to hold on. My partner was in total shock that he didn't help me at first but in the end he killed the ant after flicking it off me. At that time I was totally freaking out and very embarrassed, but I find it so funny after that incident.

Finally we proceeded on to Faber walk, here was really confusing because there weren't as many signs as before but it was really fun being scared of the insects and huge spiders ( I hate those the most ). We took the cold and dark routes that eventually lead us to Jewel Box! So we rested there and ate our special cakes that was given to us by my Sweet Dear Mother =) But it was really fun, took funny videos and pictures. Jewel Box is a really neat place to have romantic dinners but at a high cost.

Last but not least, we completed the Marang trail where there were many insects. I stopped to take photos when suddenly my partner waved the bag at me and told me to run but I was shocked and scared that I just squat down and covered my head, he kept waving it on top of me and asked me to move then I quickly run to one side and he followed after me. It was after then that he told me there was a wasp following me but I didn't run - because I thought he was telling the bug to run =.=" so silly of me. And finally we reached vivo city where we freshened up and caught a movie =)

Thank you for reading this whole terrible long post of mine, but I just thought it would be fun to share my trip with you guys and hope that you may have as much fun as I did. In case you find it hard to get the maps of the different trails, you may download it below in pdf - sorry iPhone users. It is all the trails combined in one pdf by the National Parks Singapore.

Map

Ciao ~
Andrea Trinity =)