Tale of Two Chefs

Two childhood friends from Ipoh came to our sunny island many years ago. They slaved in many kitchens until one day, they jumped at a chance to open their own business at a little coffeshop corner near Commonwealth MRT.

And hence "Two Chefs Eating Place" was born.

Superman and I finally made our way there after reading many good reviews about this Zi Char. It was a pleasant five minutes walk from Commonwealth MRT.

Fortunately, it wasn't too packed when we reached there at around 7pm. Service was friendly and courteous, and food arrived quickly, within five minutes of placing our order. Probably because we ordered the crowd favourites, this being the first time we ate there.

We had:

Butter spareribs - $8

Rich, fragrant and tender, this dish will have you at the first bite. The powdery butter makes the pork ribs really really good. Never tasted anything like this before. 

Tri-coloured egg with spinach - $8

Another winner, this dish is soft, creamy and smooth with lots of tender spinach. Love the combination of egg, century egg and salted egg with spinach, a perfectly well-executed dish.

Beancurd with enoki mushroom - $8

Smooth beancurd with lots of enoki mushrooms, a dish that you can ladle the gravy over your rice with.

Glad that we ordered the above combination of dishes as the ribs tend to be on the sweet side, beancurd with enoki mushrooms on the salty side and the tri-coloured egg with spinach the perfect foil to the other 2 dishes.

This is a fantastic place for zi char, a yummy date for us that day!

Two Chefs Eating Place

Blk  116 Commonwealth Crescent,

#01-129 Singapore 140116

Tel: 6472 5361

H/P: 9435 4197 / 9437 9712



Spread some Christmas cheer

Bread Society is one of my favourite places to go to in Ion Orchard.

With the warm and inviting decor and cheery service, you will want to buy every cute and interesting pastry there. My only gripe is the store is kinda narrow...anyway...

Look at what I bought!

It comes packed in a sleek looking box

A Christmas tree in a box. Completely edible and incredibly yummy!

Back to school

Made a trip back to the old school recently and was given a mini food tour by Superman. I was astonished that so much has changed since then.

The grubby and stuffy canteen was renovated and given a new outlook. The sleek decor not unlike the food courts we see in shopping malls nowsaday.

And there was even some vases as decor. I dare say it even looked better than some foodcourts outside.

We had:

Zha-jiang mian.....noodles with minced meat and slivers of cucumber for the refreshing bite.

Tonkatsu set

The xiao-long bao was juicy and most importantly, cheap! At $3.50 for six pieces, it really is value for money.

All these washed down with a cup of coffee....

Superman said that he will treat me to dumpling noodles where they will only start preparing the dumplinds when you order the next time I visit. Oh, and also a slice of cake with coffee at the cafe.

I can't wait.

Weekend food post

What we had over the weekend:

From the kitchen:

Just like the way mummy used to cook!
With the addition of Japanese mayonaise and Japanese sauce, perfect!

Dumpling noodles with otak, special sauce concoted by Superman.

Outside the kitchen:

Looks like hell, taste like heaven. Beach road Scissor cut curry rice.

A mixture of gooey, sticky curry sauce and braised sauce, the Hainanese curry rice here is strangely addictive and satisfying. Superman and I have been eating at this stall for almost 10 years now.

And ever since City Square mall opened nearby, we have been making our way to Toastbox for our drink.

Chilli crab thick toast, soft-boiled eggs topped off with teh si siu dai!

 

No wonder I can't seem to lose weight!

A long weekend

The long Deepavali weekend gave one an opportunity to do many things.

On top of clearing the piling housework, we also managed to cook some meals and went shopping and eating at Orchard Road.

At Orchard road, we bought two pairs of Uniqlo jeans at $19.90 each and had lunch at TGIF Hereen:

Crisp tortillas topped with bacon-infused refried beans, spicy nacho meat and cheese. Served with pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream and topped with jalapeños. Cheesy, chewy and crispy all at once!

Ribs, shrimps and chicken tenders with TGIF's famous Jack Daniel's sauce. Curiously, the Jack Daniel's sauce is on the sweet side and it reminded me of popiah sweet sauce...

After sharing one appetizer and main course, we were both so stuffed that we shelved our original intention of ordering their dessert.

It was a hearty lunch with a nice view of a busy road junction of Orchard.

 

Having the luxury of a long weekend, I was in the mood for some cooking.

What I cooked for breakfast, pork and liver congee paired with piping-hot deep-fried youtiao, yum!

What I cooked for dinner, minced pork with tofu meatballs and Hainanese pork chop, double yum!

Love long weekends!

Try harder

Try harder, he says.

Hmm...

Double celebrations

It was a double celebration of sorts for me. Started with a D24 mooncake accompanied with a birthday song from Superman, interspersed with lots of well wishes from family and friends and ended with a birthday song from my dear niece.

A simple day but I was touched and happy.

Nation's Birthday

Some shots i took of the National Day Parade 2010@ Padang:

It was a beautiful day

The theme of the parade

One of the crowd favourites...

The National Flag

The flypast

The sunset

The Padang

And it ended with a big bang

Lai Wah restaurant

We had a family gathering of sorts when Superman invited family of both sides together to celebrate his graduation.

After much deliberation, we chose Lai Wah Restaurant and pre-ordered a set menu that requires 2 days advance notice.

Here's what we had:

Lai Wah assorted dish (Mayonnaise cold prawn, shredded cold chicken, chicken nuggets, spring rolls, stir-fried egg and century egg)

The fried items were piping hot though nuggets as a starter were a little out of place here.

Braised shark's fin with crab meat

Soup was flavourful though shark's fin could have been more.

Garoupa fish in two styles

Steamed and deep fried, this dish is one of the signature dishes. Superman's dad, a Teochew through and through, said the fish could have been fresher. For me, the steamed wrapped fish slices with spring onions and deep fried fish slices are an interesting play on taste and textures.

Sea cucumber, fish maw with vegetables

The sea cucumber and fish maw is soft and flavourful, the way I like it. Served with tofu and spinach. The tofu are mashed and mixed with some vegetables before being deep fried.

Crispy squid with salted egg yolk
Yumm! I loved the crispy and piping hot squid. The salted egg yolk is not very pronounced but adds a different dimension to the dish. Full of unami flavour!

Fried prawns in crispy nest with mayonnaise

The prawns are large and firm, wrapped with noodles and deep fried. The waitress explained that the crispy bits are mian xian, longevity noodles

Fried E-Fu noodles

The noodles are a bit on the oily side but still good.

Lotus seed red bean paste hot dessert

What I like is that the dessert is once again, piping hot. Not too sweet its a nice way to end the meal with.

Overall, it's a good meal at a reasonable price. Some hits and misses, but good quality food with no MSG. On top of that, there's no GST, no service charge and complimentary tea, peanuts and orange soft drink. We bought our own wine and there's no corkage charge.

This is restaurant with a long history and Superman's dad even commented he brought Superman to this restaurant when Superman was just a baby!

Lai Wah Restaurant

Blk 44, Bendemeer Road,

#01-1436

Singapore 330044

Ganbatte! がんばって!

Attended Superman's graduation ceremony over the last weekend. Superman commented that this graduation meant the most to him.

I knew what he meant.

There were times during his journey to graduation when self-doubt and frustration crept in. Glad that he persevered and graduated after years of hard work.

Mummy was most supportive when she travelled to the other side of Singapore to attend the Superman's graduation ceremony at his invitation. Even though I told her beforehand that there weren't enough ceremony tickets to go around. Was grateful when one member of the family sacrificed his ticket to let mummy attend.

Mummy even bought a teddy bear dressed in matching graduation robes from a booth in the school. The bear did not come cheap but mum dismissed my "protests" by saying how many such graduation ceremonies will she ever get to attend in her lifetime? She says it's just a simple gift for such a momentous and joyous event.

Thanks mum!

Superman, this a prelude to greater things ahead for you. Ganbatte! がんばって!

How many bags does a girl need?

List of some GWP purchases i made:-

Laura Ashley Tote Bag: Big floral tote with long straps but may not suitable for carrying heavy items (No double stitching on ends of straps).

Fred Perry Tote Bag: Big and sturdy with a classic design but straps are smooth and kept slipping off my shoulders.

Agnes B Bag with charm: Medium size bag that can fit in lots of items but cloth material is quite thin. Charm is beautiful though.

Coach Poppy plastic zip pouch with charm: Cheery design on a square plastic pouch(20cm x 20cm). Can be used as a pencil case or toiletries pouch.  Coach Poppy reminds me of Powerpuff Girls.

Liniere(Vol.8) Limited Edition Embroidery Tote Bag: Sturdy, small bag with a minimalist design. Love the ribbon and embroidery details.

Bathing Ape 2010 Mook Camo Bag: Love the design and size of this sturdy bag. Gave it to Superman and he got some positive comments when carrying this bag.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Bag: Dainty bag that can hold more that it looks. One of my favourites.

YSL Mook Bag: Battered but not bruised, it has withstand the rigors I put it through almost everyday. Made of thick cloth with YSL initials stitched in gold, this bag is one that is most versatile and suited for daily use.

Superman just asked me this question yesterday:"Why are you going to a bookstore to buy bags?"

 Gosh, I need to buy some shares in Kinokuniya soon.