年年有余 in celebrations for Abundance through the year

I've probably had ten of these in the 15 days of the Lunar New Year.

And they came in all shapes and sizes with different people groups.

But this.
Was 年年有很多鱼!
Bountiful set for 4-6 persons with 18 slices of salmon.

With add-ons of 12 slices of salmon and kajiki.
Each.

Do the math.
That's 42 slices.
Yes?
Indeed.

There's a lot of camaraderie in the tossing of colorful fresh and preserved vegetables alike.

And then you mumble some awkward random chinese prosperity phrases.

But when people just play with the vegetables on the surface, you know some massive help is needed.

Like that.

Otherwise, somebody's gonna end up eating a whole blob of sweet plum sauce.

There's just a lot of fish in there.

And as the chinese saying goes,

my dining partners insisted that we keep one slice of fish aside.

Hopefully that little slice bodes well for us four in the year 2014 :)

Putting size into perspective with the lemon wedge.

These were baby sized shisamos.

I have never seen them like that.

And frankly,

we were hardly pleased.

The hanasaki ika tempura was also more batter than anything actual squid.

I don't know what went wrong there.

Thankfully we had these edamame peas that were faultless.

And really the saving grace after our massive tossed salad.

It was a miss that night at Ichiban Boshi Ngee Ann City.

But I'll be back again.

And see how all that goes.

For the love of affordable Japanese food and the expanse of space and high ceilings at this outlet situated so conveniently in the heart of town.

To a great year of the Wooden Horse ahead!

祝大家年年有鱼!

Belgos Centraal Covent Garden

Half kilo of mussels for 5 pounds?

Mmmhmm.

Only if you arrive at 5pm.

Beat the Clock!

Anytime between 5-630pm.

The dishes on the special menu will cost you the price reflected on the time of your arrival.

Lessons in punctuality will cost you, my friend. :)

I had this when I was in London 4 years back and I thought there'd only be mussels on offer.

Apparently not.

I didn't keep count.

Was too busily slurping up my mussels and white wine sauce.

Little morsels of the sea.

Delish!

And thankfully,

they had more than just mussels on the promotional menu.

Dad says, "Mussels are fish bait. I do not eat fish bait."

Repeat after me.

Generous slices of smoked salmon with dill and asparagus

atop a bed of linguine in cream sauce.

Linguine - Favourite.

Salmon- Generous. Omega 3 rich hey!

Asparagus- A little too soft.

Cream sauce- Brings it all together. Hits all the right spots! :)

But.

That's a strike two for dad.

He does not take salmon.

And he calls himself a fisherman.

So there we go with roast chicken.

With sticky sweet Thai chilli sauce in a huge bowl on the side.

And a generous serving of fries.

Indulge yourself with some mayo and tomato dips.

I definitely did. :)

Bangers and mash.

These were the smallest serving for an item on the menu but they were a bang for the buck.

If you love your bangers full on savoury flavours.

Slicing into these bouncy meat packages are a dangerous affair.

They might spurt into your eye if you were looking. or not.

or fly off the plate.

Definite no no on the etiquette's page.

The mash was a good balance to the strong flavours on the meat.

We had them all at just 5.35 pounds each.

What's the 35 for?

35 minutes getting lost in Covent Garden.

You don't say.

Well, look for the Superdry outlet with the orange flag. Belgos is just opposite to it.

A nondescript place almost like an underground bar.

Waitstaff in parish outfits.

It's blasphemy to drink in a church! :)

Enjoy the experience.

It's a Belgium experience in London.

<3>

brotzeit @ 313

Going German.

skip the latte.

pig out. literally.

then cleanse your guilt with a mozza salad.

add in some omega three

a pile of carbs

hearty conversations over dangerously clogged arteries.

and we only live once.

so live like royalty.

emperor cakes.

i'd rather the apple a day.

strudel's the moodle.

Dinner.

cooked. sashimi.

I recently bought some sashimi from a certain supermarket that was the total opposite of -fresh- :(

Frowning at the block of sashimi I bought, I sliced it up, hoping that some parts would be edible with the additions of a lot of wasabi but I was horribly disappointed.

This was everything bad and making matters worse, raw.

Well if fresh ain't fresh, COOK it!

You don't want to run the risk of salmonella. How ironically appropriate.

This was simple.

A pot of drained al dente pasta fusilli and the capellini no. 2s that i had a handful leftover of.

Some Campbell's Mushroom Soup and two spoonfuls of Nespray (boosts creaminess and creates that je nais sais quoi taste of a lil sweetness :)) for the sauce.

Now topple in those salmon pieces to cook in the remaining heat, more than sufficient.

A flat teaspoon of salt, a generous dash of oregano and black pepper mixed in.

Top with a slice of cheddar and come back in a bit.

All melted and deliciously cheesy.

Perfect for microwaveable lunch the following day.

But who am I kidding. Eat it fresh off the stove! :) 

There's nothing like fresh. Or generous for that matter.

I'd do sushi takeout from here anyday. :)

First time we are here at novena square 2 for sushi instead of the long favoured nihon mura. For convenience purposes more than anything else.

But wow. When I saw salmon maki that looked like this,

I just had to grab it. Yum :)

They also do lunch sets for affordable prices of $10.80 and up which includes choices like grilled yellowtail head, unagi, codfish which comes with slices of sashimi, complimentary miso soup and green tea which applies for all dine in customers.

What was stopping us all this while?

Space.

A simple sushi counter with a seating capacity of probably not more than 20 pax. We had 9 and took up just about half the shop already.

Be prepared to wait too as the staff do everything from cleaning, cashier and of course cooking prep.

But wait you shall. And wait I will.

For quality food that I know will satisfy my tummy for sure :)

did u get it right?

Where else for dining at a very lovely marina?

Prive at keppel bay :)

And what could top being serenaded by a monkey dressed as a gondolier. "O sole mio"

Napolitanian lyrics Che bella cosa e' na giornata 'e sole n'aria serena dopo na tempesta! Pe' ll'aria fresca pare già na festa Che bella cosa e' na giornata 'e sole. Ma n'atu sole, cchiù bello, oje ne' 'O sole mio sta 'nfronte a te! 'O sole, 'o sole mio, sta 'nfronte a te! sta 'nfronte a te! Quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne, me vene quase 'na malincunia; sotto 'a fenesta toia restarria quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne. Ma n'atu sole, cchiù bello, oje ne' 'O sole mio sta 'nfronte a te! 'O sole, 'o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te! sta 'nfronte a te!

English translation What a beautiful thing is a sunny day! The air is serene after a storm, The air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration. What a beautiful thing is a sunny day! But another sun, that's brighter still, It's my own sun that's upon your face! The sun, my own sun, It's upon your face! It's upon your face! When night comes and the sun has gone down, I almost start feeling melancholy; I'd stay below your window When night comes and the sun has gone down. But another sun, that's brighter still, It's my own sun that's upon your face! The sun, my own sun, It's upon your face! It's upon your face!

Oh it sang alright! Complete with lip movements and head adjustments. Till it fell over and spilt my glass of cold water. It was a sight! And just too funny even the other table was amused. :)

A malted malteasers milkshake that was a disappointment. It came warm. And no we didn't send it back.

The wait staff who seated us looked terribly harrassed and tired from what we couldn't comprehend. There were customers but it wasn't packed full so what was the fuss?

A very small portion of the king salmon order. 200 grammes. For $28 this was pricey and I really wished I chose from the breakfast menu instead.

The meat was watery. That couldn't mean fresh and I certainly hope it didn't mean it was thawed from a frozen fillet.

What I don't know for sure can't affect me.

We made a lot of compromise on our food expectations and were only satisfied for our long cab ride from home to the marina for its view and lovely sunny weather that lasted till we finished our mains. :)

With my favourite projectmate from university days till now. Christmas and birthday presents yay! :)

We moved into the air conditioned area due to the rain and she excused herself to order cake! So much for getting directions to the washroom. You lie! :p

And made me a very happy girl indeed. This mocha chocolate cupcake was a dear with the mocca cream in a small plastic tube that you could squeeze ontop in artistic fashion before digging in. :)

I love the place. I just wish the food could've been a better complement.

Till the next time. :)

the coffee connoisseur @ novena square

There were a few reasons for this.

One of the biggest was feeling terrible that Josh missed out on our Italian mayhem because of his utter devotion to the safety and security of our nation.

And the fact that it's mandatory of course.

At least he likes it. :)

Then there's also the countless times I've dined/ grabbed a cheesecake from TCC but my family probably wouldn't step into it. Just because it hardly looks like a dinner restaurant.

Of course things change after you've dined at all semblances of restaurants/ pubs/ bars for the past ten days.

I think two reasons were good enough.

There's more but then you'd sleep before the food gets to you...

Dad. Always needing a good soup. :)

Mum who eats beef while Dad doesn't so these are her rare occassions for that kind of red meat. Juicy. Medium well done. She liked it.

Josh had a yuzu salmon pasta. He was worried if the servings were big enough for a dinner meal and no, he won't be dining there with his friends in a hurry. This is the phase in life where buffets look awesome (he's been in that phase since dragonboat days and counting. how nice to have permanent excuses to carbo load.)

Nigel was suffering from a terrible jetlag. He could only deal with tasting. Not actual eating. Did well with the chicken though. Juicy, tender. Didn't taste much sherry but none of that affected an alcohol intolerant like I.

So new restaurant offering by the end of 2011. Last year was the ichiban line of restaurants that has seen our frequent dining attempts throughout this year. And hey, the family has TCC-ed! :)

I don't know about you but I love my family. :)

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time...

Mr Herbivore :)

meats. i mean, meets Ms Carnivore.

Falls in love

And then there was. Lil' Seafood-ivore. 

With a couple of tablespoons of dashi miso paste...

And some other additions

They came, they swam, they cooked.

A one pot bubbling dish for the family of Omnivores.

And they ate happily ever after.