What's at The Central?

put five hungry people together on a sunday night and what do you get?

a massive bill hey!

any guesses? 

quaint. :)

we had a salad for starters and we devoured it like a pack of hungry wolves once it arrived.

crisp lettuce, chopped olives, momotaro tomatoes, a small scoop of tuna flakes topped with a slice of lemon.

simple.

and cost too much.

I'd rather have my salads at The Vault.

escargots.

in garlic butter.

lit ablaze for just a moment.

was that sandy base solid fuel?

$9.50 for six.

A dollar odd for a pop.

The satisfaction just wasn't enough.

Spanish paella.

This was enough to share for two or three small eaters.

The ingredients were substantial.

Although I wish all the seafood was not that dry.

Italian burger.

Original demi glaze sauce.

Oozes juice when you cut into it.

Every bite was full on meat flavour.

This would be perfect on a hot plate with a baked potato.

No complaints on the mash though.

Yum.

Seafood cream spaghetti.

Salmon, squid rings and mushrooms.

Generous serving of everything in its namesake.

I'm a happy camper.

*slurps

 This tonkatsu set had the makings of a good value set.

Free flow rice, salad and seconds on the miso.

Except.

The tonkatsu cutlet was nothing compared to Tampopo and Tonkichi.

The breaded batter was crisp.

But the meat was tough and unyielding to a cut by a spoon.

Still,

we had seconds on this.

What did I say about 5 hungry people?

And when I thought that was it... 

Curry burger.

Same awesome patty.

This time on a hotplate!

But smothered to death with a pungent curry sauce and topped with cheese

and lots of cherry pink pickles.

I needed rice with this because it was a tad too salty.

And if you think that was all for dinner...

What's dinner without desserts?

Banana caramel pie topped with a generous squeeze of whipped cream and a couple of walnuts.

We had two of these and very fairly devoured.

Thick slices of banana covered with a gelatinous mixture.

There was just the merest hint of caramel.

But a delightful treat anyhow.

Warm brownie topped with ice cream.

You couldn't go wrong with a rich chocolate base and a cool sweet vanilla topping.

If this was vanilla ice cream of a higher quality,

I'd pick this over the caramel banana tart any day.

So the bill?

Came up to $184.70 for the 5 of us.

The company was good.

Food was good on the overall.

Some hits and misses.

But still, I'd be up for dinner with these people again anytime :)

Thanks for having me hey.

My virgin experience at Ma Maison.

Finally.

Oiishi!

marble slab creamery @ the central

How do you decide?

It was swelteringly hot.

Anything indoors with air condition sounded good.

With ice cream?

Sounded simply perfect. :)

It was a first for my at marble slab. Having walked past it countless times in Iluma where we always bypassed it for Berrylite.

It's about time I gave this a go.

And which should I try?

Anything on the bestseller's list please.

Double chocolate

Rocher

Red Velvet

Sweet.

Nutty.

Sweetest.

Apple and spice.

Apple pie comfort.

Matcha.

Bittersweet. The way I like it.

Cheesecake.

Too strong on the vanilla base.

I'm the happiest customer when it comes to hearing suggestions.

A 50% promotion on the next waffle/ waffle cup.

Well that makes it simple.

A waffle and a waffle cup.

And now what?

Pretty close to the real deal :)

But I gotta say- it looks much better than it tastes.

Darn.

Don't get me wrong.

The ice cream flavour is good.

The brownies? Skip that.

The chocolate dipped waffle cone?

Totally dump it.

It wasn't just an issue of fresh.

It was soft and only made 'crisp' by the chocolate coating.

Tragic.

Definitely to be shared. Much too sweet.

And the indian boy behind the ice cream counter? Kudos to him for taking loads of pictures for us.

Serving up water without being asked.

Service quality. :)

Nothing like a pair of dive buddies and a dinner date.

 <3 s

ichiban boshi @ novena square

This is the only outlet that I've seen kushiyaki items available.

They aren't cheap so I haven't made the decision to try them yet but perhaps one day when I'm feeling peckish and want a bit of everything :)

It's been a long week. Too much and too long, it gets to be a little overwhelming.

If you only knew that I would do everything to change the events of the week.

On a Friday night, after many paper cuts and a pile of marking done,

I needed something that would be light yet sufficient for a dinner meal.

Serendipity in a paper hotpot. :)

This was new on the menu. The option of a salmon/ beef kaminabe for $13.90 or a seafood/ hotate kinoko kaminabe for $17.90 if I don't remember wrong. The usual options at the AMK Hub outlet are limited to only the hotate kaminabe and a spicy kimchi one. Hmm.

Anyhow, this was just what I was looking for without even realising it.

The soup came filled with an assortment of vegetables and a lone shitake. If it were up to me, I'd slice up the mushroom. Making it seem like more. No one really bothers to cut up the mushroom for sharing. 

The beef slices were marbled just enough to give those slices a tender juiciness when cooked. Accompanied by a piquant yuzu radish dip, it opens up the appetite immediately. I liked the soup. It didn't taste like dashi. Perhaps it was chicken stock. Light with a hint of sweetness enhanced by the flavour that was imparted by the beef slices gently cooked in the broth. :)

With my pumpkin croquette and aburi maguro sushi, this was a good dinner.    

Then of course, there were desserts. At $2.90, Udders runs a waffle deal that is affordable yet tasty. If I had a choice to share, I'd do waffles in a heartbeat. :) I wouldn't be greedy enough to polish off a waffle and ice cream on my own. A single scoop of Bailey's Irish Cream and one of Snickers, Mars and Honeycomb Vanilla. Balancing the alcohol content with chocolate and sugar to reduce my risk of alcohol induced rash. :) Udders at United Square. Hmm. Grab the only sofa seat in the house for an improved experience.

last lazy afternoon of 2011 @ tcc shaw

A lazy teatime date from 3 till 6pm on a saturday as the last day of 2011 before catching MI4. All that thrill spills in that jam packed action movie where Tom Cruise impressed me with his agility at his age. I gre up watching this guy! The Firm was the first movie I caught him in. Imagine reading The Firm at eleven years of age. :) Well, that left us hungry for a sweet treat at Swensens near Ion to end what eventually became our dinner before we each had our new year's eve parties to be at. :)

For food that never fails and company that always leaves us wanting more. The year might not have been all good but it definitely ended well. :)

traipsing down thomson road

a good ending :)