Category Archives: Business trips

SINGAPORE: CATCH-UP @ CAFE IGUANA

8 April 2009 20 comments

Café Iguana
Riverside Point
30 Merchant Road
Singapore
$$$–

I very rarely meet up with friends when I’m in Singapore. Partly because I just don’t have the time, and partly because I’m damn lazy and too busy running around town to organise get-togethers. But now that my friends (and even my family/cousins are getting in on the action!) are now hanging out together in Singapore (yes, very sad, despite me being shafted off in China!), I thought I’d better get my ass in gear and get all of us together ;)

We wanted somewhere with good food, even better drinks, and in a great location that we could sit around in. So unfortunately, my clever idea of Hawker centers didn’t quite fly. In the end, settled on Cafe Iguana, some sort of Mexican restaurant/bar by the water. I’m generally not a mega fan of Mexican food. It’s nice and I’ll eat it, but I don’t crave for it like I do for McDonalds ;) The only Mexican food I like is Taco Bell, but that could be because I’m biased towards fast food. Loooove their tacos and loooove their cheesy fries! The fancy Mexican joints that I’ve been to just ain’t the same.

and I arrived fashionably (very) late thanks to the stint of wedding dress shopping beforehand with Mum. Sorry guys! Cafe Iguana has a nice chill ambience with slightly dopey waiters. We scored an awesome high-bench table that we sat at all night, and I can’t remember if it was airconditioned but it wasn’t hot at all. However that may have been affected by the myriad of icy tequilas we downed.. in an assortment of flavours like peach, mango, strawberry, blueberry, etc. I REALLY wanted to try the banana one but forget to order it, d’oh! All the (probably drunk) people tried to convince me “Oh it DOES taste like mango!” but nup, it didn’t. Loved the Strawberry one though.. if only because it was pink ;)

Was too busy talking to really remember the food. It was nice but not spectacular. I loved the Shredded beef wrap thing (can’t remember the name, too lazy to look it up!) in particular, and also the Sizzling plate thing (also can’t remember and can’t be bothered) that I stole off despite her silly proclamations that “I DON’T SHARE!”. Whatever!

Sadly, I was the 9th wheel during the evening. Everyone had a partner except for me. Sadness! But Chris was in India on his own business trip, and having a pretty miserable time there haha. We can’t ever seem to coincide our business trips to Singapore together.. it’s like the holy grail for us. So come on stars, align already!

Was ridiculously tired the whole day but still had a brilliant time. Photos courtesy of my* digital camera:

* Andrea’s and Merrill’s

Is this what a real Mexican place looks like? Who knows? It was cute!

That warm cheese dip… OMG………………..

Each man clutching what they love most

Tequilas + food

The boys, with flashing his single chest hair

Elliot is so ridiculously cute. Still trying to figure out way to steal him…

He even holds his own bottle!!! Friggin’ cute!

Looking like such ladies. Heh heh heh.

My favourite shredded cheese thingy. So good!

Avocado ice cream. Weird.

The girls! Minus my other cousin who rocked up late (yes, even later than me!)

I tried not to listen to the “you can get this in Shanghai for 1/5 the price!” muttering in my head

SINGAPORE: A QUICK STINT

7 April 2009 42 comments

Was in Singapore for a blink of an eye. My key learning is that in future, I won’t try and condense business trips across countries into 3.5 business days.. because I found out first-hand it’s enough to give one a brain aneurysm. At least it was a productive, albeit short, trip! Tried to squish as much food-eating as possible into the pitiful amount of time I was in the country.. but didn’t manage to accomplish what I wanted to do (or rather, eat) because my list was just tooooo long! Sadness.

It’s nice being in Singapore. It’s a big difference to Sydney, and again a big difference to Shanghai. Unfortunately, didn’t really get out much, sad to say! I got to see the inside of office walls 90% of the time ;) But that was the purpose of the trip anyway, so at least it everything went as planned. It’s been a whirlwind, glad that everything is sorted out now and the pieces are falling into place.

Just a few little random photos during my time there. Didn’t whip out my camera much, because wasn’t that inspired since I didn’t have much internet access (too busy), and lost my will to take photos to food-blog ;)

Swissôtel The Stamford (the tall one)

The room. It was nice :)

Breakfast room

Singapore hawker centers – the food of kings.

Chicken Rice. Yayyyyyyy!!!!!

At TCC at Singapore’s International Airport. A sort of panini pizza with
turkey, assorted veg and loads of cheese!

Mmm… cheesy goodness

English muffins – one sweet cranberry based one, one savory one

The savory one was INCREDIBLE, I’ll get it again any day!

Oreo frappe. Probably worth 251312523 calories, but well worth it.

HONG KONG: GRAPPA’S RISTORANTE @ AIRPORT

7 April 2009 10 comments

Grappa’s Ristorante
Mezzanine Departure L8,
Terminal 1
International Airport
Hong Kong
$$$$-

Decided to have lunch at the airport before my Hong Kong –> Singapore flight, as for some reason I was stupid and forgot that I’d be served lunch too on the plane. Nevermind, 2 lunches for me can’t go wrong! Figured I’d try out some Italian food, since we don’t eat that often in Shanghai. Grappa’s Ristorante looked promising and popular enough, so decided to chill out whilst waiting for my flight.

It’s situated in the middle of the airport, overlooking the check in counters. The pianist on the baby grand is a nice touch, and service is attentive and polite. I settled on the Osso buco alla milanese – braised shank of veal with tomatoes, celery, carrot and natural juice served on a bed of saffron risotto because I just can’t say no to the word “shank” once I see it on the menu. Sadly, the veal came out dry – the edges showed that the meat was evidenty cooked beforehand and left in the fridge, so the surface dried out. They did pour sauce on top to try and mask that, but didn’t cover all the meat ;) I know this paints a pretty dismal picture, but frankly, I’m pretty sure most restaurants reheat a lot of dishes on their menu. It was actually not too bad. Some parts were tougher, but some were tender and was nice when dunked in the gravy. Still, I wouldn’t order it again since now I know it’s not cooked fresh to order ;) The Saffron risotto, however, was obviously freshly cooked and was awesome!

Hong Kong international airport

At Grappa’s Ristorante – fresk baked bread with 3 dips

Osso buco alla milanese – braised shank of veal with tomatoes, celery,
carrot and natural juice served on a bed of saffron risotto (HKD$215)

Millie’s Cookies, with a signature drink from Cathay Pacific (delish!)

Cookies brought back for Mum, Dad and I. I liked the Banana one!

Garden salad and duck meat + duck liver terrine

Pumpkin and ricotta pasta bake. This was delish! Served with their
signature alcoholic cocktail.. can’t remember what it was though :P

Cheese plate. Loved the blue cheese

And so, with that, I said Bon Voyage to Hong Kong and Salutations to Singapore!

HONG KONG: CRYSTAL JADE

6 April 2009 18 comments

Crystal Jade
Shop 2018-2020
2/F IFC Mall, Central
Hong Kong
$$$–

Crystal Jade is ubiquitous in Hong Kong (and abroad), where you’re guaranteed to get some fantastic, authentic food at decent prices. Established in Singaporean, it boasts a fantastic menu featuring Xiao Long Bao and La Mian (aka hand-pulled noodles) as their star dishes. It’s constantly packed out with a long line, and it was for dinner that I decided to get in the queue and waited 30mins to score a table alongside other diners eagerly slurping at their noodles and picking at their dumplings.

They waste no time getting your order once you’re seated and they plonk a big glass of steaming hot tea in front of you. I selected the Fresh hand-pulled noodles with mince pork and mushrooms in spicy gravy, one of their specialities. The noodles are hand-pulled there and have a soft yet slightly springy texture. They come slathered in a rich, thick spicy gravy with mince pork and mushrooms – incredibly tasty and so filling you don’t need much more. It’s served with a small bowl of plain broth which I like to scoop a little onto the noodles before slurping everything up.

I also ordered the Wontons in chilli oil because a trip to Crystal Jade just ain’t complete without their noodles AND their dumplings ;) It turned out way way bigger than it looked in the menu – 6 HUGE dumplings wallowing in a super-spicy chilly oil. The dumpling ‘skin’ was one of the best I’ve ever had – ultra silky and smooth, all slippery and encasing a generous portion of mince meat. Incredibly tasty, almost too tasty and spicy when paired with my noodles. Should probably have gone with the non-spicy Xiao Long Bao but I don’t regret it because these little wonton babies were amazing!

Really wished the noodles were half-portion and the wontons too, because I was staggeringly full between that, the bowl of soup, and 2 glasses of tea. Had to walk around the shops for half an hour afterwards to make all the food go down.. but well worth it, Crystal Jade is fantastic!

Blurb inside Crystal Jade’s menu

Pictorial menu, woohoo!

Fresh hand-pulled noodles with mince pork and mushrooms in spicy gravy
(served with bowl of soup)

Wontons in chilli oil

Massive and so luscious!

The brightly lit interior

HONG KONG: TSUI WAH RESTAURANT

6 April 2009 32 comments

Tsui Wah Restaurant
15-19 Wellington St
Central
Hong Kong
$$—

It don’t get much more Hong Kong-style than Tsui Wah Restaurant. I don’t know what the name means, but I figure it’s something auspicious since they have multiple chains and the one I went to was absolutely massive and constantly crowded. They’re open 24/7 and it seems they are always fully packed out. Glaringly lit, the large restaurant is more like a cafe, and is packed in with glass-topped tables featuring the menu under the sheet of glass. Very practical ;)

It was here that I decided to have my breakfast, as I was after some traditional fare to pad my belly for the busy day ahead. Was very pleased with my selections,because all turned out perfectly and was a fantastic way to start the day.

The Abalone, ham with macaroni in soup looked totally uneventful when served, but tasted oh-so-good. A clear and tasty broth that wasn’t too salty, lovely el dente macaroni, and slivers of abalone and ham to give a bit of taste. Awesome, healthy(ish?) comfort food. Had it with 2 lightly fried eggs which were just cooked so the yolks were all runny. Awesome cut up and eaten with the macaroni. Who doesn’t love runny eggs with everything? ;)

And, of course, the Condensed milk butter bun. No trip to Hong Kong is complete without one (or ten) of these babies. A toasted milk bun, sliced in 2…. and slathered with some butter so it melts in….. then drizzled with a generous helping of sweet condensed milk. OH HEAVEN!!!!!! It’s luscious – sweet and salty all rolled into one. I wish we could get it in Shanghai – or if it does exist, I haven’t found it yet. Man it’s good.. just looking at the photo makes me want to eat it again ;)

Also loved their Cold milk tea, which is really popular with the locals. Very sweet, creamy tea (I think they use condensed milk?) makes an awesome pick-me-up in the morning ;) An awesome place that’s minutes from the hotel and the office.. so will definitely be going back ;)

Tsui Wah Restaurant