Wednesday, March 17, 2010

记得吃 - Part 1

For a start, I already like the name of this dessert shop - 记得吃. :)

I first got to know of this dessert shop along Liang Seah Street where it used to be the alternative dessert shop to patronise if one couldn't find a seat in the more popular 阿秋甜品 across the road.

However, since the launch of their durian puree dessert, the number of 记得吃 followers have been growing steadily, with me being one of them!

If you want to avoid the weekend crowd along Liang Seah Street and be assured of a seat immediately inside the shop without having to queue up, you could visit the main branch at Chinatown Point.

A recent visit revealed a new range of desserts in the shop - snow shavings! I believe the dessert was 'copied' from Taiwan where the shaved ice is so fine unlike ice kachang and yet taste like ice cream but without the sinfulness of the creaminess in the usual ice cream.

For those who doesn't like their dessert to be too sweet, you might want to request for the syrup not to be poured over the snow shavings.

We also ordered their hot dessert - almond paste with black glutinuous rice and similarly received a two thumbs-up compliment! :)

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is a relatively new temple in Singapore having only been founded in 2002. As such, the temple with its full fledged air-conditioned facilities was quite an enjoyment to pay a visit to even for the locals who were dying to get out of the sweltering heat.
The interior of the temple was very richly decorated with plenty of gold in the grand hall and especially so on the fourth storey where the sacred Buddha tooth was kept. Here, the floor was even tiled in gold!

The Grand Hall

For visitors who would like to have a summary of the life of Buddha and an introduction to the other Buddhas, it would be a wise choice to visit the Nagapuspa Buddhist Culture Museum located on the third storey. Here, the story of Buddha is recounted in Buddha's view such that it is in the first man's account. This seems rather strange to me as I feel that it is more appropriate to recount the story in the third man's view instead.

On the second storey, there's even a teahouse where visitors can enjoy a nice cup of tea with soft Buddhist music playing in the background and the option of browsing the Buddhist books on sale.

All in all, it was a rather nice experience, seeing the temple in a modern light and definitely lots of photography opportunities for the tourists!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Global View On The Food Shortage In The Rest Of The World

A worldwide survey was conducted by the United Nation. The only question asked was: "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure.


In Africa they didn't know what 'food' meant.

In India they didn't know what 'honest' meant.

In Europe they didn't know what 'shortage' meant.

In China they didn't know what 'opinion' meant.

In the Middle East they didn't know what 'solution' meant.

In South America they didn't know what 'please' meant.

And in the USA they didn't know what 'the rest of the world' meant.

Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia Walk

I have passed by this restaurant (Outback Steakhouse) on several occasions but never the urge to frequent it. And that record was recently broken when it was the proposed gathering venue with a group of ex-schoolmates.

As the name implies, it is an Australian restaurant so I was rather puzzled to find a soft toy of a Kiwi instead of Kangeroos adoring the dividers of the seats.

Having not much idea on the specialities of Australian cuisines, a glimpse into the menu doesn't offer me much insight either. It just looks like a typical western restaurant. Only item on the menu that caught my fancy would have to be the onion fries or Blossom Onion (so lovingly termed at the Handle Bar @ Gillman Village where I first sank my teeth into one several years back).

The rest of the items which we ordered off the menu seem pretty ordinary for local standards except that it's a little on the pricey side. The servings are huge too so it would be advisable to share 2 main dishes amongst three or four of you if you are petite diners. :)

heart-shaped grilled chicken breast

quarter chicken with a huge scoop of mashed potato

tomato based sphagetti with chicken and mushroom

fish and chip