Spizza

When we reached the place, I noticed that all the tables in the restaurant were booked except for two. My hub then told me that he has made the reservation 1 month ago and he was the first (of coz lah) on the reservation list. He even specifically requested for a particular table that is away from the crowd and yet, not so near the washrooms. I was at a loss for words. Since when did my hub become so thoughtful and meticulous?

So why did he choose this place? "The Ambience", he said. Oh alright... it's indeed quite nice.



I like the way they done up the place with red flowers on every table. I wonder if that is the same throughout the year. :P



Polmelmo (6/10) - not sure if I have gotten the correct spelling



My hub was full of praises for this grapefruit drink, so I thought I should give it a try. It was really nice for the first few sips. For some reason, it became so bitter after some time, that I just have to stop taking it. :P

Nabucco (9/10)
Cream Of Wild Mushrooms Soup And Bread Croutons

This soup is good! What's more, it was still piping hot when it came to us, unlike soups in other places which are usually served lukewarm. It really works for someone who likes hot food and I happen to be one. :)

Caesar Salad (10/10)
Romaine Salad, Bread Croutons, Caesar Dressing, Grilled Chicken Breast

How good can a salad get? THIS good! I like everything in this salad. The vegetables, the chicken, the sauce, the croutons... *Ding dong Ding dong* :D

Vittoria (8/10)

The pizzas are supposed to be named from A-Z.



Why did they give up at W, when they are almost at the finish line? *shrugs*



This is something different from the usual pizza we ate. The crust was as thin as a biscuit, I didn't feel full after eating 2 pieces (the case when I took pizzas from pizza hut/canadian or the likes). In fact, I managed to finish all the 5 pieces, half the size of a medium pizza, all by myself! All pizzas should have crust the same thickness as this! Yums!

Strangely, my hub (who takes sambal chilli, etc) finds it quite spicy and I (someone who doesn't take chilli) finds the spiciness quite acceptable. *ponders*
Traviata (7/10)
Amaretto Frozen Parfait With Chocolate Tartufo

The waiter was full of compliments for this dessert and he ended off his description with a 'Very nice!', we can't help but to go with his recommendation. It's not too bad, but not that nice either.



Spizza. A rather stylo name. But why 'for friends'?



It could be a self-fulfilling prophecy. There were quite a few big groups of friends in the restaurant on our way out. :P

Price
$59+ for the above

Place
29 Club street
(nearest MRT station is Chinatown)

After which, we headed to a shopping centre, where we played a few games of wrestling with XBox360. We had a good laugh, especially when I kept pressing the wrong button to 'pose' instead of punch/kick. I was badly 'bashed-up' by my hub. >_<

What a fun way to spend this day. :D

Donut Factory

"Look at what I have gotten for you. It's in the fridge", my hub prompted me when I came back.

I thought he must have bought something for me to eat again, but it was more than that.

"You light up my life." The first words that put a wide smile across my face.

Oh... Donut factory. I've heard all the raves (and queues) on this, but I never had the urge (nor the time) to join the crowd in this donut frenzy. Not even at the suntec branch with shorter queues. I will try the donuts... only if I didn't have to queue.

My hub was with me all along. He doesn't believe in following the trends blindly either. Which is why he surprised with me this box of donuts. When I opened up the box, I was touched. No tears, but yea, it moved me. Knowing that it's just not my hub's style to queue up for such stuff.

When I saw these words

"I...

love...

U.",

on the donut, I just have to pounce onto him and give him a real big hug. He's such a sweetie!

Some say it's Friendship Day. Chillycraps prefers to call it a Thursday (That's a good one! lol). To me, it's still a Valentine's Day! :)

Many commented that Valentine's Day is too commercialised with rocket-high prices for set dinners, flowers and chocolates. That is why they choose to spend the day just like any normal day. While I agree that couples should not only display their affections by spending lavishly on this day and taking each other for granted again on the next or remaining days, I feel that a little surprise on this special day does help to spice up life (and love) a little. I am glad that my hub is still putting in effort on this, however small the gesture is. :)

Donuts (5/10)

This donut by itself can only earn a 5. It's way too sweet. Even sweeter than my hub. >_<" I am glad I didn't have to queue up for that.

Price

$11 (My hub said it only costs about $7 on usual days) :P

Place

Raffles City

B1-61

Happy Valentine's day! Happy Friendship Day (or Thursday) to all! ^.^

Xiao Xuan Feng

I have lost count on the number of visits to this restaurant. :P

Dumplings La Mian Soup (6/10)



Family Receipe Curry Chicken La Mian (9/10)



Very tender chicken meat...



Price
$22.45

Place
Tiong Bahru Plaza
#01-15

Hogs Breath Cafe 2

Ever since I introduced my hub to this restaurant (based solely on bloggers' reviews), he is hooked. Thereafter, I always accompany him to this restaurant with much reluctance.

I guess the beef main course that he always take should be very nice (for him to keep returning), but I just didn't like the non-beef food that I had been taking (thus the many missing posts on this restaurant). Today, I have decided to just blog about it, because the main course I have taken, has finally made it across the passing mark.>_<

Crispy Chicken Burger (7/10)

Congrats! A course that doesn't really puts me off. :P

El Grande Prime Rib - Medium well (9/10 for my hub)

Price
$45.90 (after 15% OCBC discount)
My hub's main course alone costs $35! He sure knows how to ka-tuk me whenever I say I am giving a treat. :P

Place
Vivocity
1 HarbourFront Walk
#03-07A

Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice

Whenever I am at Balestier, I will ask to have our meal at Loy Kee. It was one of the best chicken rice that I have ever tasted, even better than the famous Boon Tong Kee across the road. IMO, of course. There are many Loy Kees across the island, but this is still the best.

Chicken (8/10) Egg (9/10)



Both of us felt it wasn't as good as before. Even with the drop in the standard, I still feel that it deserves an 8. :P It's usually quite silly to rate a braised egg. I don't usually do that, but this egg somehow had that special 'X' factor that made it very tasty. Softer than the ones I usually had.



Vegetables (7/1o)



Price
$16.50 for the above and two cans of green tea

Place
342 Balestier Road

Haagen Daz

As in previous years, we went down to River Hongbao to have a feel of the Chinese New Year Festival. We didn't really comb the whole area before heading towards the Esplanade.

I was hungry for dinner, but my hub wasn't. While searching for a restaurant to satisfy my hunger, we passed by Haagen Daz.

"We can make use of our S$25 voucher!", I exclaimed, before realising that it was a bad time to bring this out.

Before I can react further, I found myself in the restaurant with my hub.

I wasn't too inclined to have ice cream for dinner, but I convinced myself that I need to cut down on my weight anyway. Having just ice cream for dinner might just help. *try to forget the fats and sweets*

I wanted waffle with ice cream, but their machine for making was spoilt. :(

New York Brownie (8/10) - Brownie with Cookies & Cream and Coffee Ice Cream

It was a nice treat, but nothing to shout about.

Banana Split (8/10)

My hub wanted something (can't rem) but they don't have it either. So he chose to have the classic banana split. Again, pretty ordinary, but nice enough.

Service

We waited more than 20 minutes for the ice cream!

Price

$33.80 (pluses not included) for both sets

That was the first time I dined in. Frankly speaking, I doubt I would dine in at Haagen Daz again, unless of course, I have another voucher. The ice-cream are good but not that good to match up with the price. Even if I have cravings, I would probably stick to my tubs.

Place

Esplanade Mall

#02-01-03,

8 Raffles Avenue

On our way to the MRT station via the open area, we saw many people crowding along the river and facing the tall office buildings with cameras in their hands. We figured out that something spectacular was coming up, so we waited.

BOM!

It was a beautiful 5-minutes fireworks display! I was so happy that I was there to catch it with my hub! It really lifts up my mood!

Happy CNY, everyone! :D

Harmony River Vegetarian Kitchen

Fried Rice (6/10)



Fish and Chips (9/10)



The fish was so good, it really tasted like the real one, no kidding. The portion of the fish was so small, though, that I wonder if it is meant for a small kid. :P

Price
$12 plus for the above and 2 fruit juice

Place
Blk 161 Bukit Merah Central
#01-3725

I will definitely return the fish and chips... that is, if I want to have some snacks. :P

Zhou's Kitchen 2

Due to our previous good experience, I decided to hold our early reunion dinner with my family at this restaurant. Knowing that it is going to be very crowded on a Sunday, especially when CNY is round the corner, I reserved a table 1 week in advance...

... only to get the table at the entrance, with a lot of traffic flow. We were pretty displeased with our table location because we thought that such tables should be allocated to those walk-in customers, instead of us, who actually made the effort to call, yes? We tried to change the table to a window seat, but they said that a customer has specified that they want that particular seat. Ok, fair enough. But how about the many tables at the other end? I don't think the rest who called to book has indicated that they wanted to sit at the 3rd-table-from-the-window?

Nevertheless, we decided to let the matter rest. The food coming up better be good. :P

Luckily for them, the food did appease us (or at least, me).

Yusheng (9/10)



Yusheng usually tastes the same to me. I don't know what they have added (or what they have not), but it just tasted so much better. The best (and most helpings) I have taken, really!



Oh, please pardon my blurry photos. I accidentally switched my camera into a different mode without realising it, until much later.

While waiting for the dishes to be served, we chatted. My brother told me he just came back from a company trip. There was a delay on the flight.

First, The pilot announced over the PA system that there were some cracks on the wing of the plane.

As if that's not bad enough, an Engineer took over to announce that 'the cracks are more serious than they've thought'. I can already imagine the stunned and worried looks on the passengers' face back then.

The best part is, when they finally announced that it's safe to board the plane, they actually reported how they fixed the crack. With a musking tape, that is! Seriously, I would have backed out if I were in such a situation. Then again, I don't think I would want to take a budget airplane after hearing this!

Back to the food...

Peking Duck - Skin Wrap (9/10)



I think the magic is in the sweet sauce, though the duck skin is not bad too -evenly roasted to a crisp. It would be better though, if I didn't see the fats underlying the duck skin. :P

While I was taking photographs of him cutting the duck, the waiter commented half-jokingly, "You are making me stressed by taking photos because I didn't slice the skin nicely" to which I replied, half-jokingly too, "I take photos of you because you have done a good job in slicing ah!"



I think the stress I induced caused him to forget about adding the whole plate of vegatables. :P



So I had to open the wrap up and DIY for everyone. That's when I saw the fats. The one below is still not that fatt-iest.



The waiter recommended that the duck be cooked with ee-fu noodles, but we asked for the duck to be just chopped and served because my family must have rice for dinner. >.<

Duck Meat (7/10)



On its own, it just doesn't taste as nice. Dipped into the sweet sauce, and it is a completely different delicacy altogether. :)

Fruity Pork Ribs (8/10)
We just had to share this tasty dish with my family.



Prawns with wasabi-mayo sauce (9/10)



Nicee... Even my mother and I (who are not so wasabi-pro) were full of praises for this dish.

Braised beancurd with vegetables and mushrooms (8/10)

There were 5 of us and there are only four pieces of it. My hub and I decided to share. At the same time, my brother also took half a piece only. I was eyeing his 'other-half' for a very long time. I finally decided to declare that I am eating it after everyone had their chopsticks down. There were no violent objections. Hehz...



I still feel that there are room for more food in my tummy, so I decided to influence everyone into having a dessert. All of us had very different preferences, so it was an interesting variety across the table.

Herbal Jelly served with Honey



As usual, my father replied 'Anything' when we asked him what he would like to have. I have a phobia for this word because I always feel very lost when I ask my hub what he wants to have for dinner and this is the response I get. :P So I 'taiji' this responsibility to my brother who chose this herbal jelly thing for my father because 'thats-what-older-generation-like'... hmmm... says who?

Mango Pudding (7/10)



He ordered this for himself. The pudding was nice, but I didn't like the sago that came with it.

Chilled Mango Cream with Sago and Pomelo (9/10)



Chilled Lime sherbet with Ice Jelly (9/10)

There were no Almond Jelly on the list. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something different. When this dessert arrived, my brother was pretty doubtful that it will turn out nice. I mean, judging from the looks, I can understand why. :P



But we were taught not to judge a book by its cover, and we probably shouldn't. The lime sherbet was nice. I almost brain-freezed myself when I took a slightly bigger mouthful of it. >.<

Service

I guess all the good service comes from the same chap, who will do small talk (while his hands are still working) and ensure that we have everything that we wanted. Some of the rest were either rigid or blur.

Price
$176 for all the above dishes plus 2 cokes

Place
Anchorpoint (oppsite Ikea Alexandra)
Copperdome


Just the same logo (overexposed) taken from the other direction. :P

Azabu Sabo - Hokkaido Ice Cream

Look at the variety of flavours to choose from! :P~~~ I can't decide...



... Actually, I don't have to. I wanted Hokkaido Hot balls, and the top up for ice-cream only comes in one flavour - Vanilla.

Hokkaido Hot balls (7 for the balls and 9 for the ice cream)
Topping was chocolate syrup and almond



Rum and Raisin (Me - 5/10 coz I don't like the flavour. My hub - 9/10. He loves it!)



Price
Hokkaido Hot balls - $2.80+$1
Rum and Raisin single scoop - $3.80

Place
Plaza Singapura
#B2-55

Bratwurst Shop

As suggested by Ice.

Hearty Minestrone (8/10)

Look at clumsy hubby.


It happened in a split second so I didn't catch him in action. :P The soup reminds me of ratatouille in Carnivore...

Black Pepper Pork (6/10)


Chicken & Mushrooms (7/10)


I didn't like the skin of the sausage.

Baked potato (9/10)


I have taken baked potato with mayo or bacon beads, but never with melted cheese. I think I am hooked to this new combi! Will do one for myself when I am back in the kitchen in a few mth's time! :P

Price
$20+ for a soup, two sausage tortillas, 1 baked potato and 2 sprites.

Place
Plaza Singapura
#B2-39C