The East Bureau @Marina Square

One last post before mugging starts... just gonna share the photos we took during our double birthday dinner :) 

Had our dinner at The East Bureau @Marina Square. If you know Supply and Demand at Esplanade, you will find them having similar style though different concept, yes they are from the same team. Was initially intrigued by their menu, which has many spin-offs of Asian dishes, especially Southeast Asian ones. In fact my group of girls actually prefer Asian food over Western, so this place was perfect haha. The ambience has a similar vibe to Supply and Demand, but more traces of Eastern elements. By the way they called it Rooftop Dining and we initially reserved an outdoor table, but we changed our minds due to the heat and to be honest, there wasn't much (nice)view to take in, the surrounding skyscrapers blocked most of the cityscape.   

Red color chopsticks that many Chinese homes use to have. But on second thought, the chopsticks reminded us of hawker centre LOL 

Hanging lightbulbs which resemble Supply and Demand

Some painted traditional Chinese wooden double doors behind us. 

I suppose most people here order alcoholic beverage as there wasn't much non-alcoholic drinks on the menu :( We settled for Iced Teas in Peach, Lychee and Passionfruit flavor (S$5.90 each). I have to say the teas had this bitter-pickery taste.  

Thai Basil Minced Pork Gyoza -- S$12

This is so gooooooood. Though I'm not sure whether it's worth it to pay almost 2.50 for one small gyoza, but gotta say the gyoza taste good and the sauce was the bomb. Love the sweet, tangy and spicy sauce, with my favorite aroma of lemongrass. We even dipped other food into the sauce haha. Finished one and immediately craved for more. Can you make a larger portion please?  

Cold Tofu with Century Egg and Minced Pork -- S$9

Interesting presentation, but the taste was just so-so. Still prefer Taiwan's ordinary restaurant or streetfood version. The century egg so little oni :( I remember having like one quarter of the century egg with one thin slice of tofu in Taiwan, which was just delicious.  

Lychee Martini Infused Sweet and Sour Pork -- S$ 13

Basically it's Gu Lou Yok. It is everything a Gu Lou Yok is, crunchy, sweer and sour, but we could't really catch the :lychee" in it. There's lychee fruit though, but seriously didn't understand the special part of lychee. It does taste good though, just abit disappointed due to our expectations. 

The Jakarta Post (Chicken) -- S$18

Favorite of the night hehe. It's basically, Rendang Spaghetti! I LOVE anything RENDANG, especially the delicious sauce with the heavenly mix of spices that has been the best companion to my nasi lemak. Now imagine having pasta that absorbs all the flavors. This dish is so good OMGGGGG mouthwatering now as I think back. But I would say this is a personal thing, not many people share my taste haha. 

Glutinous Rice with Roast Pork -- S$17

Not sure if the rice is suppose to be hard and abit too hard to chew, wasn't a big fan of this. It smells good though, just that I don't really like the hard, dry texture of glutinous rice. By the way, generous portion, I think this could be shared by two girls. 

Oriental Aglio Olio with Seafood -- S$24

Finally, pasta in Zi Char style. Why Zi Char, coz it's so greasy, which I thought was weird because usually I can take aglio olio well. Don't really like the greasy sensation and I suppose there wasn't enough 锅气 WokHei. But I do like the spicy flavor and fragrant aroma. Love the texture of both pastas too!  

Overall, still enjoyed the food and the ambience. Though the items are a little bit pricey, but at least they taste good. And if you like a view of Esplanade, the outdoor dining isn't a bad option after all, and apparently you can watch the F1 Race over here. 

Very Cliche to say this but: Awesome food with awesome companion. 

After that, we explored around the area and ended up at Esplanade. Bought a cake beforehand and we were looking for a place to savor the cake. Found this pretty little cafe called Suzette at Esplanade mall. But gotta say we were very paiseh, the cafe has like a wide range of cakes on shelf and we shamelessly brought our cake into the cafe haha. But the staff was nice enough to let us eat our own cake. We ordered coffee drinks instead. The cakes from the cafe look really good though, definitely gonna try it some day. And the ambience of this little cafe is so dreamy, pretty and cosy.

Yay a birthday cake and birthday song from you all!

One Table, 5 Chairs. All we need to chat like there's no tomorow haha.  

In case you are wondering what you can do at Marina Square's rooftop garden...

Photoshooting time. These are all #nofilter shots. Not bad right? But this spot/angle was the only place in the whole rooftop garden that is worth a photo LOL.

The East Bureau
Modern Pan Asian Restaurant & Bar
6 Raffles Boulevard
#03-03 (Rooftop Garden)
Marina Square
Singapore 039594
Website (Menu): http://theeastbureau.com.sg/menu/

Suzette
Esplanade Mall,
8 Raffles Avenue #01-13,
Singapore 039802
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzettesg/


Mugging time starts...
this blog will be dead for at least another 3 weeks, can't wait to continue writing. Have so much more to share hehe. 

Merchant's Lane @ Petaling Street

Was looking back at some photos from my Sembreak and I think I should share about this place asap before this place becomes major LOL or maybe it already is 

It's a restaurant that I would say, be one of my favorites so far, in terms of it's ambience. Recently KL has this booming trend of Hipsters Cafes popping up and most of them look the same to me now. It's either vintage setting, contemporary-manhattan kind, or industrial style interiors. This restaurant rocks coz they gave the ancient shoplot of KL a modern twist while keeping the Malaysian touches. 

Merchant's Lane 美真林@Petaling Street 

Located on the first floor of a shoplot along KL's Petaling Street, you might easily miss the entrance if you didn't look carefully haha.
But the entrance is already triggering some memories of old skul Kopitiam in Malaysia.

 Awwww I love how they used Turquoise as the main color!! 

The old school menu!

They used the metal tables where you can see blurred reflections of yourself, i bet you've seen this in Kopitiam or old restaurants also. 

South China Sea -- RM24.00

I guess I seldom eat so healthy haha

So many colorfully diced veggies, with crunchy and fragrant deep fried potato strips. The salmon was pan seared with mild seasoning. Dipping them in the runny eggs is just delicious!

 Chicken Tender Salad -- RM17

I think it's delicious but the friend prefers it without the mayo. 

Tender and juicy chicken strips with fresh veggies and mayo that gives the right amount of seasoning and flavor to all the ingredients. 

Pomegranate Cooler -- RM14

Iced Matcha Latte -- RM15

another reason why I love the place, it's all lit up with natural light. Really love the bright and homey atmosphere here!

When we're done with our lunch, it's time to explore around this instagram-worthy place.

At one of the outdoor area with stained walls and aged wooden furniture. 

Love how they have the right amount of amount of greens in the house to make the place livelier and more Malaysia!

I guess this restaurant reminds me of Chinahouse in Penang, which I can never forget it's beautifully restored shoplot that has an awesome interior with local finish.  

There's different areas of the restaurant for you to choose, this one is more like a local tea lounge kinda area. With antique cupboards, paintings and some couches as well. 

Really enjoyed my meal over there despite the slightly higher price for food and lack of choices on their menu. I've always been a big fan of my own country's heritage especially the buildings! and it just feels so good to be dining in one of these aged shoplots that have been through the history. This could be your once-in-a-while kind of place to hang out with your friend and update about each other's lives. Which is exactly what me and Yianyeen did haha. Really glad to be meeting her before she flies to UK for 2 years! It's been a while since we last met, and I've always loved meeting up with her every now and then coz I knew how she transformed from a rather quiet person to now a confident and lively lady, and meeting her every time always amazed me on how she changed so much haha.

Hope she's doing well in UK! Can't wait for her to be back in KL again and we shall dig out more restaurants like this. In fact she was the one who suggested this restaurant.

Merchant's Lane 美真林
150, Jalan Petaling,
City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur,
Opening Hours: 10.30am to 8.00pm
Check out their FB Page here:
https://www.facebook.com/Merchants-Lane-%E7%BE%8E%E7%9C%9F%E6%9E%97-965566273456114/timeline

Orchard Christmas Lights and Nam Nam @ Plaza Singapura

It's holidays and exams were over, time to have awesome food and feed my hunger :D

My friend complaint that I've been posting food photos like crazy on instagram since my exam ended haha Yeap, who cares  about my weight, I'm just gonna eat like there's no tomorrow haha

It's a night in the city, and I knew where I want to satisfy my craving for yummy stuffs.

Nam Nam Noodle Bar at Plaza Singapura

Almost everytime I visited Plaza Singapura, I can hardly miss the aroma of fragrant soup whenever I pass by this shop, especially when I take the escalator up. Told myself I would definitely come one day heheh...

The Banh Mi

Vietnam's version of burger

The best part would be the crunchy on the outside yet soft and fluffy on the inside french loaf aka baguette. I think they use the same salty seasoning as ramlee burger, but this is definitely a healthier version and has much more layers of texture. The crunchy cucumber, slightly sour pickled radish, super fragrant cilantro and a bit of chili to add some heat! Together with the baguette omg, u tell me how to not taste awesome? 

Grilled Chicken Banh Mi -- SGD 6.90

This is so good!!!! The chicken is really tender, juicy and well seasoned and it has egg slices as well. Together with all the other veggies and baguette, one bite gives you a burst of flavors and texture. 

Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi -- SGD 5.90

Taste good too. The tofu is slightly grilled with soy sauce on top I think, can't taste lemongrass though. A rather healthy choice compared to the chicken one. 

And here come The Pho!

aka Vietnam's noodles

The texture is slightly harder than our kuayteow and less sticky and chewy

Pho Beef Combination -- SGD 9.90

This is one unexpected goodness

At first I was kind of reluctant to order this because I had never eaten cow organs

But since I get to try both the meatball and beef slices, so I decided to try out

and to my surprise omgggg, beef tendons taste awesome!!!!

Is like both chewy and crunchy with a very tasty flavor, abit like fish maw

By the way the soup rocks. I don't know how they can have such a strong pepper flavor without it being too spicy for my tongue. But few seconds later, the pepper will still send some heat down your throat, which feels really warm and it's even awesome coz the weather was kinda chilly that day. Love the soup. The meatball taste great too!

Dry Sauteed Lemongrass Pork Noodle -- SGD 9.90

Err, the colors kinda fooled us abit haha

Not to say it taste bad, but the flavors are more towards the mild side, more of a refreshing taste. Something like salad I would say.

Seafood Noodle Soup -- SGD 9.90

It looks spicy but it's not, more of a sweet and sour taste.But it's not really seafood afterall, just fishballs. 

check out this bunch of seasonings that you can add to customize your pho and also banhmi!

Vietnamese Coffee with Condensed Milk -- SGD2.60

This is so good!!! The condensed milk kind of dominated but it still has a very strong coffee aroma.

Love the refreshing taste!

Btw you see that wooden thing? It's a straw!

I thought it was a stirer and dare not to use it haha...

Dinner dates of the night!

Can't wait to dig in!

Will definitely come back here again! The food are actually quite affordable. Just to clarify, we ordered extra banhmi just because we were just too crazily hungry haha, not because the Pho has a small portion. By the way, prices includes GST and there's no service charge, yeap it's all nett prices! 

Nam Nam @PLAZA SINGAPURA68 Orchard Road, #01-55, Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
Contact Number: 6837 2234

Go to Nam Nam's Website to find out the location of other outlets!

After our dinner, it's time to enjoy the Christmas Lights in Orchard!

Must share this before Xmas comes

It was my first time to witness the world renowned Orchard Christmas Lights. And it didn't fall short of my expectations, the street was brightly lit. Everything was just so vibrant and joyful. Sorry Pavilion, not even your deco can win. Magnificent would be a suitable word. Here are the photos I'd taken with my phone's camera, NO FILTER! So yeap you can imagine the real thing will be much awesome! 

It's also my first time going INTO a Christmas Tree!

Outside ION Orchard

My favorite xmas tree on Orchard Road

It's like white chocolate and berries haha

Sweet and indulgent

This Tree of Stars looks super nice through camera lens. Those bright golden rims made everything look almost magical. 

Playing with the bright golden lights.

My failed attempt to annoy the angel

Love this photo much haha...

It's like 2 idiots stuck in fairyland

Some extras heheh:

Visited Changi Chapel Museum 

It's free admission, but no photos allowed. 

Super informative despite being just a small museum.

Yeap this is one of those places that makes you feel grateful that you're born in a period without war and never have to go through all the pain and suffer. 

There's also small church inside the museum with murals related to Christ

It's peaceful and I love it.

There's an altar to pay respect to all the foreign warriors who fought and also suffered as prisoners during WW2

We went to Downtown East as well!!

This is the signature Cadbury Ferris Wheel that you'll see outside the building. 

To my surprise, there'a actually nothing much in there. The only thing we can do is play in the arcade haha. 

So yeap, hope this post gives you a glimpse of what I experienced on the Streets of Singapore in this Christmas Season! Beautiful sights I must say, wish Malaysia can have beautiful illuminations like them also, I bet it will look awesome in the streets of KL especially when it can highlight the traditional and modern buildings altogether. Anyways I'm back home! Very tired, I need to hibernate like seriously. Gotta start work soon! and Can't wait to visit all the malls and snap pretty photos. Will update again soon! Stay tuned :D