Listen up lovely.

Australia Dairy Company / 澳洲牛奶公司

-

Why is it called Australia Dairy Company when it obviously is 99% Chinese? Long queue? Check. Rowdy crowd? Check. Sharing of tables? Check. The only thing non-Chinese about this place is the steady inflow of tourists thanks to the relatively rave reviews on the WWW.

We heard about the snaking queues beforehand and started off our day bright and early… at 9am. Pre-Disneyland breakfast… here we come! We were greeted with queues that extended till two shop units down and had no choice but to join it. Thankfully, we were seated (albeit with another family on the same table) in less than 10 minutes! Good thing those in line before us were in larger groups.

Hospitality there is dismal. I don’t blame them though, they’re probably twice as busy as normal cha chan tengs (茶餐厅s) in Hong Kong. We were shoved the menus the second we ordered and felt really pressured as the waiters continuously took turns to drop by asking us what we wanted to order. Half the time was spent trying to read the chinese menu and deciphering what exactly we were ordering. Thankfully, a fellow Singaporean told us to “just order Set A (HKD$26), it contains everything famous”.

I don’t normally eat breakfast, so for me to chow down ham macaroni, toast, scrambled eggs with a drink was quite a feat… or so I thought. It was easier than I thought! My favourite? Definitely the scrambled eggs! The toast with butter comes a close second. It might sound simple - toast with butter, but I have no idea how they make white bread so fluffy and magical. 

Pardon me. I just salivated.

The macaroni with ham was mediocre, just your typical macaroni in MSG-loaded chicken broth topped with strips of chicken ham. But the eggs are a totally different story. Thick, smooth, creamy, scrumptious, fluffy, rich and perfect. 

We ordered the steamed egg white pudding with milk (HKD$17) too, which my friend H describes as “the best thing in the world”. I wouldn’t go so far to attribute it as the best thing, but it’s rich and exquisite texture sure makes it a great after-meal dessert!

Other things to try - the steamed egg pudding, 牛奶橙汁 (orange juice with milk, might sound like a weird concoction, but I like it!).

Getting there: Take the MTR to Jordan Station, exiting at C2.

-

Australia Dairy Company
澳洲牛奶公司
白加士街47號地下
47 Parkes Street
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Tel: 2730-1356

Food For Thought

Full Works (Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Garlic Mushrooms, Chunky Chicken Sausage, Hash Brown, Toasted Brioche with Roasted Tomato Salad) | Grilled Calamari & Bacon Salad (With Torch Ginger & Coriander Lime Dressing) | Duo of Pancakes (With Milk Chocolate and Banana)

On the last day of my lunar new year 2011, I had an incredible brunch with the boybestfriend at Food For Thought at 8QS. We were both craving for breakfast food and Food For Thought fit the bill perfectly, delivering when expected.

My favourite dish to order, Full Works, arrived promptly, a mere five to ten minutes after we placed our order. It was the first time J had brioche, and he loved it! My favourite? The round balls of potato! Too cute to resist. Golden brown and cripsy on the outside, with mushy potato hidden within. I’d prefer these bite-sized cuties over McDonald’s hashbrowns anytime.

We had the Grilled Calamari & Bacon Salad to share too, and though I was hesitant ordering this (I hate ginger, and it has a Torch Ginger & Coriander Lime dressing), I’m glad J insisted on this. The marriage of ginger and the lime dressing gives it a tangy kick, complementing the varying textures of squid and crunchy bacon bits. 

And lastly… the pancakes. I’d recommend sharing this with another - of the three times I’ve been to Food For Thought, I’ve never been able to finish it. In my opinion, the gula melaka syrup drizzled (albeit excessively) over the pancakes overpowered the bananas and the chocolate. The next time I have this, I’ll request for the gula melaka syrup to be served separately. 

Nonetheless, yet another delightful Sunday spent with J!

-

P.S. Check out Clara C’s cover of Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up” here. Awesome sauce.

P.P.S. This is the first time I’m using my Canon S95 since Chinese New Year in 2011.

P.P.P.S. Happy Chinese New Year everybody!

-

Food For Thought
8 Queen Street
Singapore 188535 

Tel: +65 6338 9887
Website: http://www.foodforthought.com.sg/fft/

Pasta Brava at Craig Road

Tucked away in a row of shophouses along Tanjong Pagar is Pasta Brava, an Italian restaurant serving rustic (and slightly expensive) Italian dishes. My friends and I visited the restaurant on a Friday night, and thankfully one of them had the foresight to make a reservation because it was a full house that night! We originally had a reservation for 4 at 7:15pm, but we pushed it back to 7:45pm. Eventually, we arrived at about 8:00pm and thankfully, the staff still had our table reserved. 

We were warmly greeted by the staff and led to our table. Soon after, a basket of bread together with olive oil and vinegar was served. Waves of reminiscence sailed past as I was reminded of our dinners in Italy - except a can of soda here would probably cost half as much. (Yes, I’ve been scared by overpriced coca cola.) 

Insalata Caprese - Slices of fresh tomato with buffalo mozzarella, basil, oregano and extra virgin olive oil

(Not in the menu) Clams sauteed with white wine, bechamel sauce and oven glazed

Spaghetti della pescatrice - Spaghetti with seafood in squid ink sauce

Linguine regina del mare - Linguine with prawns, clams, scallops, squid, crayfish, garlic and tomato sauce

Risotto Ai Funghi Porcini

The Insalata Caprese was a great starter, the mozzarella was just the right texture. It isn’t hard to screw this dish up once you’ve got great mozzarella in there, couple it with succulent juicy tomatoes, and you’ve got a recipe for a sure-win salad.

Our second starter, clams sauteed with white wine, bechamel sauce and oven glazed. Oh the clams together with the white wine sauce made such a perfect combination. I couldn’t get enough of the white wine sauce and continued dipping the bread in the sauce even after finishing the clams. Salivating at this moment. Caution: clams and sauce should be eaten when still hot.

I ordered the Linguine regina del mare, with arrabbiata sauce. I was slightly disappointed with it to be honest, I didn’t manage to taste any spicy-ness the arrabbiata sauce was supposed to bring to the dish. At $23, it was relatively reasonably priced and was rather generously portioned. Prior to starting on my main, we had chomped down three baskets of bread (we were hungry and the bread was hot, fluffy and good - don’t judge us, kthxbai) and my friends were certain I wouldn’t be able to finish my main… yet I did! I’m a fan of seafood and though Pasta Brava’s seafood pasta didn’t taste horrible, it wasn’t that memorable either. I guess I was just really hungry that Friday night.

Didn’t manage to try any desserts or pizza. Will definitely make another visit with J to try the much raved about Spaghetti della pescatrice. 

Pasta Brava
11 Craig Road
Singapore 089671
Tel: 6227 7550

Shots - Ann Siang Hill

Something struck me today - I like familiarity and don’t like breaking out of my routines… at least when it comes to food. I am a routine person. When I go to Sushi Tei, I’ll always order the sashimi salad with Sushi Tei dressing, with extra dressing on the side. When I eat Yong Tau Foo, I’ll always pick the soaked cuttlefish, straw mushrooms and fish paste wrapped in beancurd skin. When I go to Twelve Cupcakes, I’ll always get a red velvet cupcake.

I like routines and am rarely a risk taker. My rationale? Why take a risk ordering something else that might not taste as good as what you’ve ordered the previous time you were there?

Today saw me taking my second visit to Shots, a cafe tucked away among rows of shophouses along Ann Siang Hill. The previous visit was slightly over two months ago with B, and I ordered exactly the same things as I did today - the hazelnut latte with a chocolate lava cake.

Today saw us talking about presentation and perceived taste - how awesome coffee would still taste awesome even if presented to you with a kopitiam styrofoam cup, yet average coffee would taste good if it were presented to you in a beautiful manner, with a cookie on the side and in expensive porcelain mugs. 

My verdict? If the hazelnut latte from Shots were served to me chilled in a normal cup and renamed “kopi peng”, I would still say it’s great, though a tad sweet. I’m a huge fan of anything hazelnut (hence explaining my inability to turn down a kinder bueno) and thoroughly enjoyed my chilled latte on this humid day. 

Shots
8 Ann Siang Hill
Singapore 069788
Tel: 6224 8502

7 KICKSTART BREWICHES

Dinner dates - Heather and Kelvin!

Creamy broccoli chicken soup, served with pita bread

Hazelnut latte

Kelvin’s Cajun Chicken Sandwich with Mushrooms

My BLT sandwich!

Heather’s Spinach Mushrooms Pizzette

Finally. Ever since the “closure” of SoHo7 (previously located at Armenian Street), my friends and I have been stalking the Facebook page of Swee, chef/owner of SoHo7 for updates pertaining to where/when her new cafe would be opening. After a long and painful wait, battling withdrawal symptoms from the awesome coffee (I’m exaggerating here… but you know what I mean), we managed to pop by the spanking new 6-days old cafe! 

Apart from being a fab chef, I must say Swee takes the effort to know her customers by name, even remembering what we used to order back in the SoHo7 days! It’s hard to catch her without a smile each time we visit her cafe and that definitely perks your mood up. 

Couple of changes to this cafe - being ardent fans, we kind of memorised the menu. Just a stone’s throw away from my/our previous/current office, we patronised the previous cafe almost every week, bringing different colleagues/friends along just so they could enjoy the great food Swee serves up! We were slightly disappointed that the burgers were not available, perhaps we came too late, but we were reassured that we could get our hands on the delectable burgers during our next visit. That is definitely something I’m looking forward to. This was the perfect opportunity for us to have something different from the menu aside from our usuals. And it sure didn’t disappoint. 

We kickstarted (no pun intended, hehe) our dinner with the creamy broccoli chicken soup, served with pita bread on the side. I hate soups that have their ingredients blended so finely into the soup that you can’t even taste it - if I had to choose between mushroom soup with minuscule mushroom bits versus chunky mushroom soup, I’d choose the latter for sure. I was pleased to see broccoli wedges in the soup with generous chicken chunks. The creamy broth and pita bread went especially well together and we wiped the entire bowl clean. 

My hazelnut latte gave Starbucks a run for her money. SMU students, you know where you can get your caffeine fix now! Here’s a warning though - don’t get the coffee unless you are sure you can deal with caffeine in your system, it’s really potent! Opt for their milkshakes instead!

I ordered the BLT sandwich and it was served with SoHo7’s signature knife-stab. The purple condiment came as a surprise to me. Apprehensive, I started cutting through the toast. Crisp and freshly toasted. Check. Nothing ruins a sandwich more than soggy bread. Liberal portions of meat. Check. If I had a choice, I’d have requested for less coleslaw - the mayonnaise caused the bottom slice of bread to be slightly soggy towards the end of the sandwich. But that’s just me, I think we spent way too long talking and neglecting our food along the way.

I’m not sure if you noticed, but the cutlery we used were measuring spoons and the crockery, measuring cups! It’s details like this that makes 7 KICKstart BREWiches so special to me. That, and all the times I’ve spent here (and at SoHo 7) together with my colleagues/friends. If you watch One Tree Hill, remember how Lucas and Hayley always hung out at Karen’s Cafe and it was their to-go place? Same thing here.

Didn’t taste Kelvin’s or Heather’s mains so no comments there, but we left the place all smiles! Just one request… bring back oink snags eggs please!

7 KICKstart BREWiches
50 Armenian Place
#01-02 Wilmer Place
Singapore 179938 

Operating Hours:
Mon to Thurs: 8:00am to 8:00pm
Fri: 8:00am to 10:00pm
Sat: 9:00am to 10:00pm
Sun: 9:00am to 6:00pm 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/7-KICKstart-BREWiches/124587654297093?sk=info