Sunday, 14 April 2013

QSFB: Quay Side Fish Bar & Bistro

QSFB is located at the Quayside Isle inside the Sentosa Cove Village.  To get here you can take Bus 3 from Sentosa Beach Station and alight at Sentosa Cove Village and walk towards Quayside Isle (about 5 mins away).  For those driving here you will need to pay the Sentosa admission to enter the island, there are ample parking here rates (correct at time of publishing) as follows:

7.00am - 12.59am: S$3.50 per entry
1.00am - 6.59am: S$1.50 per entry


Quayside Isle is still a fairly new place, most of my friends are not aware of this place although it opened around mid December last year (2012).  I like the setting here, it gives me a very carefree feel away from the busy and fast paced city life.  There are people strolling with dogs, kids playing, lovers just admiring the scenary.  Hope this place doesn't get crowded and noisy like the city.


There are quite a number of restaurants here and its a good place to chill.  But in this post I will be blogging about QSFB.


Initially I had wanted to try the restaurants at the start of the stretch but the dining tables are all reserved, the manager offered some sofa seats but they are just uncomfortable for eating with low lying tables.  It turns out to be a blessing in disguise as I chance upon QSFB which isn't crowded and has a cosy feel so I decided to give it a try.


A look inside the restaurant.  They have quite a selection of wine and cocktail.


The seafood listed on the blackboard.


The menu has some standard dishes but they also have fresh seafood and it changes depending on the catch they have which I think is good as this means I can try different dishes when I am here.  These fresh seafood are listed on the blackboard and you can choose the type of cooking method you want for your dishes.  However do note that a S$25 cooking charge is added to each fresh item you ordered from the blackboard and it comes with 1 side dish.  I find the selection of side dishes a bit limited, would be good if they can have like 10 side dishes(5 cold and 5 hot) to choose from.


There is quite a selection of fresh fishes.  If you are curious like me the right most fish is the Alfonsino, we ordered the 2nd fish from the right, any idea what fish is it?  No prizes for guessing correctly though, its the red grouper, think I am addicted to the grouper after the Batam trip.  The staff is also very help and patient in explaining to me what fish there are and the type of cooking method that compliment each type of fish.


Here are the oysters and Boston lobster.  We ordered both of them.

The crab legs and Canada crayfish.


Here comes our first dish. The 3 types of oyster (Canadian, Irish, US Kumamoto), there is a minimum order of half a dozen but you can mix and match the different types of oyster.  The biggest and most juicy one is the one in focus at the front of the photo, the Canadian Oyster.  The right one is the US Kumamoto and the one at the back is the Irish oyster.  I still prefer Canadian oyster.


This is the pan-seared red grouper, I find the seasoning a bit salty but the fish is very fresh and goes will with the cooking method.  It is about 600grams.  I chose the sautéed vegetables as the side dish (not in photo).


The herb crusted Boston lobster.  The meat is very juicy and 'bouncy', actually I didn't expect so much meat so its quite worth it.  Oh ya the claws has alot of meat as well.  It weighs 560grams.  The sides for this is truffles fries, which I think is quite good which right proportion of truffle.

A very satisfying meal indeed, the total bill comes to around S$200+, which I find reasonable.  Will definitely come back again.

31 Ocean Way
#01-11 Quayside Isle
Sun - Thu: 12:00 - 00:00
Fri - Sat: 12:00 - 01:00

Friday, 29 March 2013

Weekend Getaway: Batam

Have not been to Batam although it is just a 40mins ferry ride away hence decided to spend a weekend there.  There are 2 ferry terminal which would take you to Batam from Singapore;  Harbourfront Ferry Terminal and Tenah Merah Ferry Terminal.  However they will arrive at different port of call in Batam so it depends on where you are heading.

Batam Fast Ferry Routes:
Harbourfront Ferry Terminal (HFT) goes to: Harbour Bay, Sekupang, Waterfront, Batam Center.
Tenah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) goes to Nongsa.

We took the one to Nongsa as it is the nearest to our resort.  It cost S$47 return including all taxes and terminal charges, the ticket alone cost about S$22 return.

Wanted to have a relaxing trip by the beach and found Turi Beach Resort to be reasonably priced at S$98 nett and have fairly good review.  The price includes a night stay in Tirta Premier Room, American breakfast and 2 way land transfer between Nongsa and Turi Beach Resort.  But do note that it is a distance from the city (about 40-45mins drive).

The trip begins from Tenah Merah Ferry Terminal, we took bus 35 from Bedok interchange and reached at 10am for our Ferry at 11am.


Our Ferry to Nongsa at 11am.


Yeah finally arrived at Turi Beach Resort.


The Bridge, a good viewing platform to enjoy the sun and sea.  A pity that only half the bridge is accessible as some renovation work is on-going.


The bridge leads to the Island Bar.


The start of the bridge.


The island bar, opens only at 5pm to 9pm.


The roof, very rustic look.


Full view of the Island Bar.


Another shot of the Island Bar.

Its almost lunch time and we decide to eat at the resort so we can relax and just slack there for the day.  But it seems like only the Taming Sari Cafe is open (by the way it Friday).


Nasi Padang (IDR 89,100/S$11).  Taste quite good. 


Martabak with beef curry below (IDR 72,900/S$9.00)


At the resort they accept both IDR and SGD hence they will list the price for both.  Paying in SGD seems to be more worth it.  At the time of this trip the exchange rate is about S$1 to IDR7700.  The meal cost about S$35 including the above and a coke (S$4.50) and ice lemon tea (S$4), there is a 10% service charge and 11% tax. After lunch we slack in our room and went for a swim, forgot to take pictures so sorry no pics.

As there was nothing much to eat at the resort we decided to venture out for seafood.  Found this place called Rezeki (at Batu Besar) which was recommended by quite a number of people online for seafood.  We asked the resort to call a transport for us it cost IDR12,000 (return trip), as it is difficult to get a transport there it is better to ask for a return transport so the driver will wait for you there.



Chilli Crab, not the usual one we eat in Singapore but it taste good.


Salted Egg Crab.


BBQ crab, not recommended.  Three crabs cost IDR 200,000.


Bun not the small ones, think we ordered too many. IDR30,000.

Hong Kong Style Steam Grouper (IDR 115,000).  Very fresh and tasty.

We also ordered salted egg sotong (IDR 30,000), vegetable soup (IDR 30,000), 2 green tea (IDR 2,000), rice (IDR 5000) which totalled to S$63.  A very good and satisfying dinner, highly recommended.  All the dishes are good except for the soup and BBQ crab which is acceptable.


We decided to head to the city the next day, again we ask the hotel to arrange for transport from the resort to Batam City Square (BCS), it cost IDR 100,000.  Nothing much at BCS unless you are looking for manicure or pedicure shops, there is a high recommended one there called Step1One Nails, it is very cheap compared to Singapore.  We head over to Nagoya (taxi cost IDR 35,000), there are much more eating places there, a big supermarket and many popular massage around.


Roasted Duck Noodles (IDR 30,800), the duck is very flavourful, recommended.  At Grand Duck, Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre.

Next stop is the highlight of the trip, SPA.  There are a few popular ones but after searching and reading the review online decided to go for The Spa Secret to pamper ourselves.  The other popular one is Isabella Massage House, will try that if I head to Batam again.


The entrance to the spa, about 5 mins walk from Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre.


The reception.


Waiting Area.


Private Massage room with jacuzzi and showers.

After the good massage(S$74 each), we went shopping at the supermarket.  The chips, toothpaste, toothbrush are all good buy.  We decided to try another Seafood restaurant, we took a taxi to Harbour Bay Wey Wey Seafood Restaurant (cost IDR 40,000).


Cereal Sotong (IDR 40,000).


Grouper (IDR 140,000).


Vegetables (IDR 20,000).

We also ordered a salted egg crab (IDR 90,000), rice (IDR 5,000) and 1 green tea (IDR 9,000).  

Finally a taxi back to the resort cost IDR 110,000.  Overall I will say that Batam is a good place to have some seafood and a good massage.  There isn't much to shop except at the supermarket.

Sunday, 17 March 2013

Jing Hua Restaurant: Xiao Long Bao

This restaurant used to be called Qun Zhong Eating House and is famous for its Xiao Long Bao.  Just by typing Neil road xiao long bao in google Jing Hua Restaurant will turn up.  After visiting this place twice I found other dishes which I will return for more.


Small Meat Dumpling (小笼包) S$7.00, the skin is soft and lots of soup in the dumpling, how ever I find the taste a little on the light side.


Hot and Sour Soup (酸辣汤) S$3.00, this soup is like drug, the first spoon I first it normal but as I taste more of it I become addicted to it and soon the bowl is empty.  Its not very spicy just to my liking, highly recommended.


Chinese Pizza (三鲜盒子) S$9.00, I saw alot of people ordered this during my first visit so decided to give a try this time.  The skin is very crispy and the filling inside is just the right portion which gives a satisfying bite each time, highly recommended.


The filling is mainly meat and chives (韭菜), delicious!


Red Bean Pancake (豆沙锅饼) S$9.00, this is another dish which I must order.  The perfect chinese dessert, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside (the red bean paste).  The sweetness is also just right.


Osmanthus Flavour Rice Ball (桂花汤圆) S$3.00, basically the soup is made with osmanthus and the rice ball are filled with sesame, not bad but I prefer the rose flavour one.

I must say the above portions are abit too much for 2 person unless both are big eaters, 3 person will be about the right portion.  The total bill came to S$37 including chinese tea (S$1 each), towel (S$0.60 each) and peanut (S$1), which I find it to be reasonably priced.

Jing Hua Restaurant
21/23 Neil Road
Singapore 088814
Operating Hours:
Daily (except Wednesday) 11:30-15:00, 17:30-21:30

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Han's Bak Kut Teh



One of the Bak Kut Teh shop which we frequent in the east, it is located at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village.  However I prefer the braised pork trotter to the Bak Kut Teh here.


How can you resist this braised pork trotter.  Its like calling out to you to eat it.  However it is very sinful hence I will only eat in once in a blue moon.


We still order a Bak Kut Teh each and share the pork trotter so it isn't as sinful, haha.

Han's Bak Kut Teh
1220 East Coast Parkway
Stall 42 East Coast Lagoon Food Village

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Kindle Paperwhite
























Yes it has arrived, the new amazon Kindle Paperwhite with Built-in light which means you can read on the plane without any issues.  I find it very convenient as I can carry any books I want to read without adding much weight to my bag.  Kindle can take both PDF and mobi format ebooks.  However do note that it has a smaller capacity than Kindle Touch (2GB vs 4GB).

More reason to buy the kindle:
1) Batteries power can last for 8 weeks (based on 30 mins reading per day)
2) It saves tree
3) eBooks are usually cheaper

Friday, 4 May 2012

Afforable French Cusine in Town - Saveur

The highly rated Saveur which has moved from East Coast Road to 5 Purvis Street (near national library building).  The food is very reasonably priced making french cusine affordable.  Decided to give it a try after reading all the positive reviews on hungrygowhere.  They do not take reservations hence better to go early if you want to avoid queuing.




















A french meal is not complete without having foie gras.  We ordered the 70g foie gras (S$14.90) to share.




















We all decided to have the duck confit (S$8.90) as well since it is one of the recommended dish, however I find it a bit blend.  The mash potatoes and shiitake mushroom is quite good though.

























Saveur
5 Purvis Street
#01-04
Singapore 188584
Daily: 12pm to 9:30pm