Monday, 13 August 2012

Group Therapy Cafe


It has been INCREDIBLY long since my last blog post. The last few months have been absolutely crazy hectic, barely had enough sleep, let alone have the energy to blog.

But I'm feeling like August is a good month and the positive energy is totally flowing!  :)

Anyway, since I'm a little less tired, decided to blog about this cute little cafe located at Duxton Road!

Have been there a total of 3 times in quite a short span of time, and have enjoyed myself each time I was there! Although, I had to admit...I won't be going back from brunch anytime soon as there are more sights to be seen!

Group Therapy tucked away in the 2nd floor of a shophouse can easily be missed. However, once you find the staircase, climb 2 flights of stairs up and open a black door, you'd be greeted with this...


Very cute and relaxed decor, nothing too upmarket, but yet nice enough for you to feel that it looks pretty put together!


Anyway, one of my best friends and I have been trying to make Sunday brunches a weekly date! And each time it's been super enjoyable and relaxed! (we've only had a grand total of 2 brunches. LOL) 


And that's her with her drink! 


And me with mine! :) 

We both ordered an iced Caramel Cappuccino if I'm not wrong! 



Here was our first dish, the Croque Madame, it's totally covered so you can barely see it (it's hiding under the sunny side up), but it was yummy!


This was the BLT Croissant with a bratwurst on the side along with 2 fried eggs! 

Have to comment that our food took an EXTREMELY long time to arrive though! :( I had only put my parking for an hour and we ended up spending waaaaayyyyyy over that amount of time there! We got a shock when we realised the time.

Anyway, after our meal, we headed outside for some  a lot of camwhoring shots. 





Ok that's it! I know this was a pretty crappy review.....SUCK IT UP. lol. 

Price:
Mains were about $20 each I think?
Our total bill was about $50

The Meal:
The food at Group Therapy isn't exceptional, neither is it bad. Wouldn't exactly rave about it, but it's still a very cute place for a meal! 


The Ambience:
Cute place! Love how it's so simple and relaxed. Really unpretentious, so you definitely don't need to get dressed up for brunch here! 

The Service:
Service staff are all really young, cheerful and friendly. May not be the most efficient bunch, especially judging from how long it took for us to get our meal. That being said, really like that all of them are nice (a rare gem these days)! 

Overall:
Cute place with nice food and ambience. Not exceptional, but if you're looking for something relaxing for the weekend, do come here! On Sundays, it's really no hassle at all with the ample parking space around the Duxton area.  

Address:
Group Therapy Cafe
49 Duxton Road #02-01

Tel:
 +65 6222 2554

Opening Hours:
Tue to Thu: 11am – 6pm
Fri: 11am – 11pm
Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun: 9am – 6pm
Closed on Mondays

For more info, visit Group Therapy's Website

Wishing all of you a wonderful week ahead! 

Love, 
Tiffany 

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Kim's Family Restaurant - Lorong Kilat (Upper Bt Timah)

Hi everyone! (:

GD and I went for some Korean food a couple of weeks back. I was introduced to this place by my boss (we went there one day for lunch) and I really like it there because:

1. The food is good!!!
2. It's pretty authentic
3. The lunch set is really value for money
4. It's very near my place (LOL!)

Alright, let's get started!


The interior is pretty simple looking. 


 There are tons of scribbles on the walls - Reminds me of the toilet cubicle walls in Perth. 
Sigh, I miss Perth!




African looking stuff who can speak Korean.
Or are they Korean? They do look kind of Asian. I don't know man.



GD (: 


The awesome sides!!! There were 12 sides altogether Omg! My favourites are the kimchi, anchovies, mushroom and the green veg at the corner.
I'm happy because they're refillable (very Singaporean I know), but who doesn't right? Heh. 


Beef Hotplate! Love this alot! According to GD, this is authentic because the beef is cooked in water and not oil. I like it because its flavourful yet NOT oily! This is the second time I've ordered this, and I'd definitely go back there for it in the future!


Pork Hotplate! This one is spicy and also very tasty. However, I still think that the beef is better! Not really a fan of the golden mushroom garnish on both hotplates, they were pretty bland.

Each set cost $12 and the portion is big (+the sides!)!!! So I really think its very worth it!
And when you're done, they will serve up half an orange per person and some sweet ginger tea (which I don't like due to personal preferences, nothing to do with them).
Try it, you'd be very satisfied after the meal!
*rubs tummy*


Price:
$12 per set meal (Lunch time only!)

The Meal:
Delicious and very satisfying!

The Ambience:
Well there's nothing fancy about the ambience. It's just a really nice and comfortable place to dine at.

The Service:
The service is pretty good! Responsive and helpful.

Overall:
I'd definitely go back again to try some of their other dishes. I saw some other patrons having some kimchi soup and I want to try it the next time I'm there because it looked fantastic!

Address:
17 Lorong Kilat 
#01-06
Singapore 598139

Tel:
+65 6465 0535

Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 12.30pm -2.30pm, 5pm-10pm


That's all for today! I hope you enjoyed reading this post! (:

Have a good week guys, I suppose many of you are having a long weekend because of the labour day holiday, so have a good extended weekend guys! Oh I loveeee public holidays!

Love, 
Huiyi






Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine (Marina Bay Sands)


Hey everyoneeee! :) 

My family and I had a short stay at Marina Bay Sands for my little cousin's birthday and headed to Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine for his birthday dinner on the first night of our stay. 

If you've ever wanted to take a look at the Casino from a bird's eye view or are not willing to pay $100 to enter, then going to Imperial Treasure would definitely give you a good chance to have a look! 
The restaurant is located on a level that overlooks the Casino, but if you haven't been to Marina Bay Sands before, it would be pretty difficult to find! And even if you have been to MBS, it may STILL be difficult to find! It is situated on level 2 and can be accessed via bay level (L1) lifts at UOB and Grand Colonnade North as well as from the Casino. Also, it is just opposite Hide Yamamoto, a Japanese celebrity restaurant which I have to say is absolutely awful in terms of both food and service! 

Anyhoos!!! Stepping into the restaurant, I already liked how cosy and inviting it looked for a Chinese restaurant, which to me normally looks very cold because of the lighting. The restaurant is small and has very cute little booths along the wall that allow for a nice setting for smaller groups. However, I do believe that they also have a few private rooms for bigger groups! The decor of the restaurant was interesting...somehow it was a modern take on a classic look (sounds like an oxymoron..haha), and I really liked it! 

And...let's get started! :D 


This was the chef carving our duck for us and removing the skin for our peking duck! 


The absolutely delicious Peking duck skin


Peking Duck ($78)
The amazing meat that was cut ever so nicely and served on a gorgeous plate! Although thinking about it..it's quite sad thinking of the cooked duck on a duck plate...

The Peking duck was one of the highlights of the meal! It was interesting because a lot of Chinese restaurants in Singapore don't actually serve the meat, instead they either give it to you as takeaway or cook the meat in another dish. However, I am so glad that Imperial Treasure served their duck this way, which I believe is a more traditional way of serving the Peking duck. The duck was so tender and didn't taste too "ducky" and so it was a winner for me! Also, after we had finished the pancake that came with the meat and skin, the service staff were more than happy to give us more of the pancake as we still had extra meat! 

Prawns with lemon sauce

This dish was very good as well! I am practically salivating whilst writing this! -_-! The prawns were so juicy and fresh and the sauce had the right balance of both sweet and a little bit sour that made it so appetizing.



Chinese beef steak

This was another spectacular dish! Can't describe how tender this piece of meat was! The steak is served in individual portions, so we ordered about 4/5 pieces to share among the 9 of us. The sauce was also such a lovely balance of tastes! I've tried quite a lot of beef steaks at various Chinese restaurants, but this has got to be one of the *bests*! 

Sweet and sour pork

If you haven't been able to tell already, my family isn't very adventurous when it comes to Chinese food! Haha. Everything we ordered was pretty "classic" but I guess it was a good indicator of how good the food was because all their normal dishes also tasted so super yummy! 
I love sweet and sour pork, but I hate it when the pieces of meat are too big/too hard or just too soft instead of crispy!! But this PERFECT!! Loved that there was a lot of batter and it was so nice and cripsy!!woo! 

Seafood Claypot

This seafood claypot is so so tasty...goes so well with rice, although I don't remember us ordering any rice! haha. But I think it would go along splendidly! It has prawns, fish, tofu, sotong and mushrooms all served in a delicious gravy that is perfect for pouring over your rice.

Braised four varieties of vegetables 

I love love love vegetables...and this dish had four different kinds of vegetables..in ONE DISH! Although I can't remember what some of them were/or what they are called. It looks like a simple dish, but they definitely got the taste down pat and I think it is way harder to actually cook delicious vegetables than a lot of people think it is! 

Fried Kway Teow

Our last dish...this was also a definite standout among the dishes! The kway teow looks plain, but it is the opposite of that! It didn't need any extra seasoning to go with it...it didn't even require any chili to go along with it!

After all our dishes, the manager at the restaurant gave us some free dessert! He was such a sweet man from Hong Kong! Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures of the dessert as my battery went flat! :/ 

Also! I went back there again for another meal a few days later, but I didn't take any pictures this time...but my family (four of us) ordered these dishes:

1) The seafood claypot (again)
2) Beef cubes fried with black pepper (so good also!!!)
3) Meepok! I know it sounds weird to eat meepok at a restaurant, but it was really the best meepok I've ever had in terms of texture of the noodles!! I really LOVED it!!! 

Also, we met the manager again this time and he came over to talk to us and really was so efficient and friendly! We were all very pleased :) 

The booths that I was describing above! 

My dad, mum and both my aunts! :)

My grandparents and my parents! 

the birthday boy and I! haha..the image on the ipad is funny! We were camwhoring everywhere. 

My aunts, uncle and cousin


Price: 
Unfortunately I didn't take down the prices of each dish and am not sure of the total price of our meal! 

The Meal:
Loved every dish! 

The Ambience:
Nice! Nothing to complain about :)

The Service:
Very good too! Didn't feel like we had to wait or even ask for anything! The staff were very attentive, and not too "in your face"! They were somehow there but not hovering over you. The manager really was very good...super efficient and had very good eq as well! 

Overall:
Had a really great meal at Imperial Treasure (MBS), so I would definitely head back again to have more of that delicious Peking duck and meepok! 

Address:
10 Bayfront Avenue, #02-04 
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Tel:
6688 7788

Opening Hours:
Sun- Thu: 10am-11pm
Fri and Sat: 10am- 12am

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! Have a great day everyone :) 

Love,
Tiff 

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Hosted on the Patio - Alexandra

I agree with what Tiff said in her last post - recently there has really been an influx of cute little cafes and restaurants with different themes. I really like it because it means that there is alot more diversity and of course, more variety for us as consumers. 

A few weeks ago, a few girlfriends and I went to this recently opened restaurant Hosted on the Patio. We went there for my dear friend Yan Ming's Hens Night dinner. It was a lovely place - quite secluded and very quiet. I like how alot of new cafes/restaurant owners are now choosing to start their businesses in pretty unique places and not in a common/boring shopping mall. I think it brings more charm to the cafe/restaurant. 

As anyway, all of us were really happy with how pretty the place looked. Unfortunately, the photos I took of the place did not do it justice at all because it was dark and the photos were pretty dark and blur :( However, do head on to their website http://www.hosted.sg/about.html, and you can see some nice photos of the place. 

There was a live band as well and the singer had a really nice voice!


Here's what we ordered that evening! 


First we ordered this to share - Grilled Spicy Squid and Crispy Calamari ($16). A chef's special!
It was super delicious we polished it off in a blink of the eye! Mmmmmm.

Each of us ordered one main dish each, but as usual we passed food around and got to try everything!!! Love sharing food!


Honey Bourbon Ribs ($26) - A chef's special!
Succulent beef ribs rubbed with herbs and spices slow baked till tender and dipped in a honey bourbon glaze with fries on the side. 
Sounds divine? Well, it tastes better than it sounds! No regrets with this one!


Penne Beef ($24) - Penne sauteed with cubes of beef tenderloin, mushrooms, spinach in a spicy basil tomato sauce. 
Very nice!!! The beef was really tender and flavourful!


Smoked Duck Liguinie ($24) - Wood-smoked french duck breast, nestled amongst asparagus and mushrooms with linguine pasta. All tied together with fragrant rose sauce. 
Another chef's special and it sounds really exotic doesn't it (smoked duck, rose sauce). Kudos to the bride to be who was adventurous enough to try that and I must say that she made the right choice because it was really good!!! 


Braised Lamb Shank ($24) - Slow braised lamb fore shank nestled on mint scented risotto, draped with roasted onion, tomato red wine sauce and drizzled with lemon parsley oil. 
I'm not a lover of lamb because I don't like that certain taste that lamb has. My friend who ordered it really enjoyed it though. So if you are a lamb lover then this dish is for you!


This is mine! Capelini Vongole ($20) - Fresh clams sauteed with lot of mined garlic and chillies, deglazed with white wine and tossed with angel hair pasta. 
As you can see from the picture, they were SUPER generous with the clams. It was never ending I swear. I felt like I was eating clams the whole evening even after distributing clams all around the table but I'm not complaining!!! Who would right? Heh.
The only criticism I have is that the sauce was abit too salty, other than that, everything else was great!

We couldn't ordered any dessert because we were all STUFFED by the time we finished our mains.



A very pretty swing!


❤ Great Night!

Price:
Mains $20 onwards
You can refer to their menu for the prices of the other food they serve:

The Meal:
Awesome food!
FYI, the Chef of Hosted, Chef Dennis Sim, is the "former Executive Chef from the internationally acclaimed Michelangelo's Group" so you can be quite sure that the food will not disappoint!

The Ambience:
I like how quiet the area is and the interior of the restaurant is very nice as well. There's a pretty big alfresco area, which is good for chill out sessions at night.

The Service:
The staff were friendly!

Overall:
Enjoyed my meal there, and I definitely recommend you to visit hosted! I'm looking forward to my next visit there so I can try the other things on their menu. 

Address:
991B Alexandra Road #01-10
Singapore 119970

Tel:
+65 6276 7337

Website:

Opening Hours:
Mon - Thu: 11.30am - 2.30pm, 6pm - 11pm
Fri - Sat: 11.30am - 2.30pm, 5.30pm - 12am
Sun: Closed
Happy Hour: 6pm - 8pm (Mon - Thu)


Okay that all for today! I hope it was a good read! (:
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and have a good week ahead!

Love,
Huiyi