Dimsum for dinner (1) - Bao Today

Looking for dimsum to eat for dinner? Affordable price? Convenient location? I would recommend Bao Today (包今天) ! Many of you might have noticed or walked past it, it is right outside 313 Somerset, near coffee club. It looks like a traditional little tea house in the outdoors but the dimsum is really good and affordable! And the most important thing is that they sell till night time!

The menu. Many types of baos/paus as reflected on their shop name. The custard bun is REALLY REALLY GOOD. Although the bun is green (think it is pandan flavor but the smell is not very strong). Not exaggerating at all. The sesame one is nice too! 

 Wide selection of choices, and aren't their prices affordable?

 The chinese tea we ordered which we were not sure is it tea or is it for washing hands since the bowl looks like that

 Usually from tasting their siew mai, you can tell if a dimsum restaurant is up to standard

 Here comes THE STAR!!! Super flowy and so much filling! One is never enough. FAV <3

Chee cheong fun is yummy too

Fried shrimp dumpling is nice too and they gave a lot of fillings but it is a tad too oily, especially when you're super full towards the end

Fried mango and prawn roll. I think this is rather oily as the you tiao suck up a lot of oil!

Also tried their xiao long bao and fried carrot cake before and both are good as well!

I've been there like 3 times i think? But i always did not have the chance to try the egg tarts! I'm sure it would be damn nice too. There're so many others that i wanna try: Braised Pork Bao, BBQ Pork Bao (I'm quite a bao person although it makes me full really fast), Crispy Red Bean Paste with Banana, BBQ Pork Pastry and Bo Lo Bao!

They also sell food like congee, curry chicken rice/noodles and noodles. So head down there if you're in town and craving for some yummy dimsum for dinner! :)

Buffet @ Holiday Inn Orchard - Window on the Park

Went for a dinner buffet @ Holiday Inn Orchard's Window on the Park with Yenqin the other day cuz my parents gave me a 1-for-1 voucher! We didn't know there were 2 Holiday Inn in Singapore and we went to the Holiday Inn Atrium near Zouk there and we couldn't find the restaurant. What a joke haha. In the end then realized there was another one in Orchard!

Decided on the dinner buffet instead of lunch cuz when i called to book, the person told me there are more seafood varieties for dinner time. I was so disappointed with the variety of seafood after i went! The lunch buffet is $56 nett and dinner buffet is $64 nett. The variety of food is not a lot but quality of food is not bad. Lots of Asian cuisine though. But i wouldn't go back there again, trying once is enough for me.

There were only prawns and mussels for their seafood. Like whut?! That is called 'more variety'?!

Tempting chocolate fondue

Desserts. There were quite a number of different cakes, nyonya kuehs, panna cotta, cheng teng and durian paste(which everyone chionged for).

There were chilli crab, pumpkin croquette, pasta, chicken with tomato, sausage, pan fried salmon on that plate. And the mussels and prawns.

 There were also some sushi, sashimi(salmon, tuna and octopus), ee mian, salad etc...

 The pumpkin soup and pumpkin croquette were nice

 First round of desserts

 Yenqin's dessert plate

 Chionged for the durian paste and took that much! HAHAHA

 OOTD of the day!

Cafe hop @ Tiong Bahru!

Went cafe hopping with Charlene the other day at Tiong Bahru area cuz there are so many new cafes there now!! We went to Orange Thimble, Drips cafe and 40 Hands. Something i have learned while cafe hopping, DO NOT visit them on MONDAYS!!! They are mostly closed on Mondays. And if you want to try their breakfast menu, either go early or go on weekends. Cuz they usually serve all-day on weekends.

The Orange Thimble

I didn't know it was right beside Tiong Bahru bakery when i went to Tiong Bahru Bakery previously! LOL. I really like the environment, very quiet and artistic. It's like you could just sit there alone, drinking coffee and reading a book and spend your whole afternoon away. The food there are also very reasonably priced! Mostly ranging around $10+. We missed the breakfast as it is only from 9am-11.30am on weekdays but all day on weekends :(

 Cappuccino ($4.50) The coffee here is really good.

The B.B.C. Sandwich ($8.50)

The serving is rather huge!

Char with the coffee!

The Orange Thimble

Blk 56 Eng Hoon Street 

#01-68 Tiong Bahru
http://www.theorangethimble.com/

Opening hours:

Sunday-Thursday 9am-9.30pm (Closed on Monday)

Friday&Saturday 9am-11pm

Drips Bakery Cafe

Have always heard people rave about Drips for their tarts and tarts are one of the desserts that i like so i've decided to try it! They serve a wide range of food, from cakes, tarts, desserts, quiches, pastries, salads, sandwiches, coffee, tea and even take home food like homemade jam, cookies and dried fruits!

Very spacious and quite a lot of seats

Mixed berries tarts. I love the pastry of the tart and the filling underneath the berries and the best thing is the berries are not sour at all! One thing i'm afraid of when eating berry tarts is being afraid that the berries are sour but this is really good.

 Cinammon Pear Tart ($7.50) Tasted as good as it seems! Cinammon stuff will never go wrong.

Green Tea Latte. I've only tried Starbucks one before as very few places actually sell them! But this was a pleasant surprise to me :) The smell of green tea wasn't very overpowering and it wasn't too bitter/sweet as well.

Comfy sofas with cushions at the back end of the cafe. Would like to try their sandwiches and other tarts if i visit them again!

Drips Bakery Cafe

82 Tiong Poh Road

#01-05 Singapore 160082

http://drips.com.sg/ 

Opening hours:

Sunday-Thursday 11am-9.30pm

Friday&Saturday 11am-11pm

40 Hands

I'm sure many of you have heard of 40 Hands as it is a widely raved place. They're famous for their coffee which tasted really good! The aromatic smell of coffee fills the whole cafe which makes it impossible for you to order a cup and try. It is a really cosy place with rather dim lightings and seats are quite close together, not very spacious. It felt like we were in a cafe overseas. I'm sure their breakfast menu is good too but once again, we missed it! :( Read on their website that it is available all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday and we went on a Friday. But when we were there at about 4pm, they told us that they only served till 3.30pm. Nooooooo :<

Iced latte with sugar syrup at the side

Tau sar pau ($2.50). I still find it damn funny&weird that they sell PAU there!!! I think they sell Kong bak pau too. But anyways, this is really nice!!! Quite ex for a pau though.

 Gourmet hotdog which tasted average. It wasn't hot as well as i would prefer it to be hot. Still feeling sore over not being able to try their breakfast menu :(

40 Hands

78 Yong Siak Street

#01-12 Tiong Bahru
http://www.40handscoffee.com/main.html

Opening Hours:

Sunday-Thursday 8am-7pm (Closed on Monday)

Friday&Saturday 8am-10pm

Buffets that i wanna try:
- Todai
- Carousel
- Kuishinbo

Buffets that i wanna eat again:
- Equinox
- Ikoi
- Tarafuku
- Aquamarine
- Dozo (Not buffet, set course meal, but has really yummy but affordable food and nice ambience)

Victor's Kitchen

The first thing that people think of when Victor's Kitchen is mentioned is their Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun!!! It is by far one of the top few that is the best. Others being Hua Ting, Imperial Treasure Nan Bei, Swee Choon and Bao Today. Although it is located at quite an ulu place (Sunshine Plaza), which is a long walk from Plaza Singapura, i am willing to go there just for the Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun. The rest of the dimsum is also not bad.

The layout is somewhat like a Hong Kong Cha Can Ting and the spaces between seats are quite narrow. You have to get an order form and tick what you want and pass it to the auntie to order. It was fully packed when i went on a Tuesday afternoon and there was even a queue outside! The price range is mostly $3-$4. Recommended if you are a dimsum lover and most importantly, a custard bun lover (like me)!!!

Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun ($4) 

Look at how flowy it is! It is so good that i had 3 of it. I'm definitely going back to have it again.

 Siew Mai ($4)

Scallop, sausage carrot cake with XO sauce ($4)

First time seeing carrot cake served in a bowl like that. Was quite salty for me.

 Har gow ($4 or $4.50)

HK Summer Ice Tea ($3)

Interesting concept, putting the drink in a bowl of ice so that it won't dilute the drink. But have to be careful of the cup floating on the melted ice after finishing your drink.

Tried the char siew chee cheong fun, spring rolls and nemo porridge(in other words fish porridge, what a weird name) as well but didn't take a pic of it! They were not bad too.

Victor's Kitchen

91 Bencoolen Street

#01-21 Sunshine Plaza

Tel: 9838 2851

Opening hours:

Tuesday to Sunday 10.30am to 8pm

Closed on Monday

A new year.

My first post of 2013 and it's like 13th January already! Almost half the month has passed. Omggg this is how bad i procrastinate.

So, although it's long overdued, i still wanna blog about the happenings in 2012 and what i hope for in 2013.

2012 was generally a good year for me. There will definitely be upsetting and down times throughout the year, but it's all these that make you appreciate the good times. There weren't any major bad times so i can't really remember them and i'm a person that forgets things very easily, which is a good thing? Hmmm.

The highlights of 2012 was:
- I finally went to Bangkok, a place where i have always wanted to go and shop till i drop. And i went not only once, but TWICE in a year!!! :D First time in May with the clique and second time in November with the uni clique as our 'graduation trip'. Also something that i'm really glad, is that me and my uni clique have gotten much closer by the end of 2012 in just 1.5 years time and we even went overseas together! I felt that we were such good overseas, eating and shopping partners :) Hopefully more overseas trips together!!
- Graduated from university! (Time just flew past)
- Celebrated and attended so many of my friends' 21st birthday parties!!! We are all legal now!
- Celebrated my own 21st birthday party with my family and close friends! Really enjoyed myself so much and it is definitely unforgettable :)
- Celebrated both my nephew's 1st birthdays!
- Attended SMTOWN Singapore!

The new year resolution every year is to exercise more and slim down and to develop a healthier lifestyle by sleeping early and waking up early BUT i have never done it. :/ But it is still really what i really want but i just don't have enough determination and motivation to do it.

It shall still be my new year resolution for 2013, adding on to, being a better person than the previous year and i should always remember to just be myself as many people are always trying too hard to be someone else that they have forgotten how to be themselves.

What i hope for in 2013 is of course, most importantly, to find a job that is good and i really like, to find my soulmate and for everyone around me and myself to be happy and healthy! As happiness and health are the most important things in life. Also, to visit more yummy food places and share with you guys! (See, like that how to slim down) Oh and i hope i would be able to visit Korea this year and also to Melbourne to visit Charlene together with the clique! And i hope that CNBLUE will come to Singapore this year for a concert. Hehe.

May everyone have a good year ahead! Looking forward to CNY and all the yummy goodies already hehe. Cheers! <3