Gelare @ Orchard Central, Singapore

 Vo-la-re, whoa-oh! Can-ta-re, whoa-oh-oh-oh!

Mom's gotten the song into my head, jeez. She couldn't stop singing it after coming here because of the uncanny (wait are there even any?) similarities to GELARE. 

Gelare, the place most famed for its Tuesdays. Also known as Waffle Tuesdays, when you get all their waffles (even the special ones) half price! You are induced to drool once you step into the cafe, with pictures of its many yummy sundaes adorning the walls.

We came on a Friday afternoon, wanting to avoid the crazy lunch hour pandemonium happening at the upper east side of Orchard Road. Don't ever go there during these times, it's friggin' chaotic, having to look all over for a nice place to eat but finding out that everywhere just happens to be fully occupied to the brim. So Orchard Central it is. I don't understand why most locals do not patronise the place, it's a really swanky mall! Cool layout, vintage shops, toilets are high tech, food's aplenty. And oh yeah, did I mention robotoilets? 

Okay, enough nonsense. Back to lunch.

BLT sandwich with foccacia bread. The little sister ordered this. What a surprise for us to hear the waiter say, 'yes, it's available'. A particular coffee outlet here in Penang, cough'rhymeswithtoffeebean'cough, would always make up some excuse for not being able to serve this. I mean, the first few times are acceptable, but not if it happens every single time?! Ish. So you can imagine how my sister felt when she had her first bite. Pure joy.

By the way, if you're wondering what the BLT stands for, it's Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato.

Mom and I shared the Grilled Chicken sandwich with multigrain bread. The bread tasted just as good as the one we order from Rainforest Bakery. Not bad, for a humble sandwich.

And then came the desserts. Swoon...

And more swooning...

BTW, it's a Cookie Craze Sundae. Perfect for the Oreo-Mcflurry lover little sister.

And although it wasn't even close to a Tuesday, we couldn't resist the lovely waffles.

Heaven on earth. Look, you can even see the clouds! - lame : \

Screw diets. Every bite of this crispy, sinful delight is definitely worth it.

Pasta Primavera

Mom decided to be a little adventurous one day and cooked this simple but very delizioso pasta dish. 

Taken off the Asian Food Channel's website. Chef Wan's recipe.

Ingredients:-

1 packet pasta (Rigatoni) cook ”Ala Dente”
4 tbsp olive oil
3 pieces of garlic minced
1 red chilly chopped
2 tbsp of pesto
2 anchovies chopped
2 tbsp of capers
A handful of asparagus
1/2 each of red and green bell peppers cut into a bite size
3 leaves spring onions sliced
8 button mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
 

Method:

1. Heat olive oil. Fry garlic and red chilly, add capers, anchovies before adding the vegetables.
2. Add the chicken stock, pesto and pasta stir for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add pepper and salt (Optional to serve with grates parmesan cheese).

You see, I told you it was easy. 

XuanXin Ramen Kitchen @ Gurney Plaza

XuanXin just opened a new restaurant in Gurney Plaza, which specialises in: you've guessed it, RAMEN.

And there's a whole lot of choices which you get to pick from.

You can have the soupy ramen, like my sister's pick above with pork.

Or if you're more of a fish person, there's always the fish belly to complement your ramen.

By the way, the soup is surprisingly tasty! Just like your favourite Maggi soup noodles.

And then you have your stir fried ramen. 

Accompanied by whichever meat takes your fancy. 

Trust me, they have everyone's choice considered in the menu.

And oh yeah, they have affordable sets which are specially created for 2,3 or 4 persons. Each set comes with any choice of ramen, drinks and a side dish. I did the math, you save about 10 dollars with the sets so just go for it.

Xuan Xin Ramen Kitchen

Address: 170-B1-8, Gurney Plaza, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04-2272227

Website

Blue Reef Fish & Chips @ Tanjung Bungah

Disclaimer : I know this is really, really late. No worries though, I have tons of photos to make up for the delay!

This mother's day, we didn't really think of where to eat because it felt just like any other weekend. It's either somewhere nearby or that Taiwanese place Dad loves so much. Well, familiarity does breed contempt. Too much of a good thing may turn into a bad thing. Ah, such cliche(d) lines, yet still undeniably true.

So we decided to try out the new place, Blue Reef. (Not so new, apparently, after Googling the place) Tucked away within the Casa Permai housing area, the place would seem as if it's out of place. I mean, hidden from the main road, surrounded by houses? There are a handful of other restaurants next door, but the location still seemed a little odd.

Boy, was I wrong about that. The entire place was fully booked for the night, even though we reached at 6.30! First thought : The food must be fantastic. So we insisted on waiting for one of the previous tables to leave. Yes, we were that curious about the food to endure the half hour wait. 

And it was SO worth it.

Seafood chowder. Quite tasty, the breadstick definitely helped too!

7-Up float; bubbly.

Grilled fish (forgot the fish! sorry) on a bed of mashed potatoes; 

loved the mash as there were bits of pickled gherkins

Heart shaped capsicums!

Their specialty - fish and chips. You can have it beer battered,

Or with breadcrumbs. Both are equally enjoyable.

As for our last thought? The food IS fantastic!

Pang's Hainan Seafood @ Tanjong Tokong

Don't you just love a simple yet tasty Maggi noodle dish? 

Drenched in the most delightful brown sauce, this one's a must-order every time we come to Pang's.

Quite a big portion, I must say. Enough for a family of four.

And yes, there are a ton of prawns under the heap.

Next is our veggie dish. Love the crunchiness of the Brussel sprouts here. Addictive. They do it pretty simple, with just a handful of chopped garlic, no sauce. Still turns out great though.

Stir fried lala. Or clams. The spicy sauce wasn't even necessary to fully enjoy the fresh lalas.

And this is what keeps people coming back for more.

The crabs in sweet and sour sauce. Remember, SWEET AND SOUR. 

The sauce has got so much kick to it you can't help but slurp it off your fingers. 

Yeah, the crabs are not bad themselves either but the highlight is definitely the sauce. 

You can even order fried buns (mantou) to scoop up all the leftover sauce from the crabby wreckage.

Just don't mess with Hook.

Red Wine Mee Sua @ Home

 

My uncle started making his own red wine (hokkien : ang zhiu/ang jiu), being the budding chef he is. 

So guess who gets to try out the first few bottles?

 

My mom makes one very slurpy bowl of red wine mee sua. 

Recipe passed down from generation to generation. 

Mom learnt it from my grandmother, who I remember used to make one giant pot every chinese new year. 

The soup's definitely the highlight.  Dad never fails to finish even the last drop of soup.

Wanna know where to get the best mee sua? Or rice vermicelli, as known by the Westeners. 

My hometown! -The small, quiet town of Sitiawan. 

(fun fact - notice it's featured quite frequently in the foodie section of The Star)