Quayside Isle on Sentosa Island is fast becoming the chill out spot for the young and fabulous. Sunset dining in the plush and luxurious setting, with a magnificent view of the marina littered with beautiful yachts; it is easy to think that you are on holiday. I recently checked out MUSEO, the sister restaurant of Arteastiq Boutique Tea House.

The vantage point over the marina allows you to people watch from your comfortable sofa seats. I found them rather perfect for hanging out with friends. 

We started with drinks first and Museo selection of cocktails is rather extensive with 30 specialty cocktails that have been created. I say go for their tea infused cocktails if you want something different.

I would certainly recommend the Mezzanine range for sharing. Choose from 12 tapas size bowls at about $12 each.

A good way to sample the various dishes is to customize your own Mezzanine set which allows you a choice of 4 dishes for only $39. Ignoring the pretentious names which are rather irrelevant to the food, the quality is actually not bad. In fact, i thought these were better than the main courses.

My favorite was the Deep fried prawns flavored with lavender. Juicy tempura prawn drizzled with sweet lavender mayo. The texture of the mayo was a bit like the tze char style but it had a light lavender perfume to it. Very delicious. The crispy but tender Smoked Roast Pork Belly also has our votes. The pepper crusted Tuna Tataki was rather refreshing with a tangy vinaigrette. The Soft Shell Chilli Crab packed a punch with the tomato based chili sauce with a hint of sambal in it.

The baked River Prawns and Linguine ($28) was saved by the well flavored aglio olio pasta that was citrusy and savory. The baked prawns didn't gel too well with the cheese and herbs and the meat was also on the dry side.

The Two-way Lamb ($35) that is the Chef's recommendation wasn't all that impressive as well. I found the lamb rack rather bland despite the cherry tomato chutney. The Shepherd pie fared a little better but nonetheless mediocre at best. 

We fast forwarded to tea to conclude our meal because of the disappointing mains. I've always loved the presentation of the tea at Arteastiq and i'm glad Museo kept to that. Don't you love the cups? Of course the teas were very soothing. I enjoyed my Ginger tea very much.

We ordered 3 desserts for sampling and each came with a choice of ice cream. The Green tea brûlée ($12) was obviously not given the TLC that it deserved. The golden caramel top was absent! Instead we had semi melted sugar granules sitting on top a curd that was too dense and gelatinous. 

The red wine stewed strawberries in the Strawberry Crumble ($12) was really sour on first taste but we quickly got used to that refreshing acidity. I liked the crispy and buttery crumble that was light and airy.

The dessert that takes the cake goes to the Vodka Chocolate Lava Cake ($12). Not that the vodka taste was particularly strong but we liked the light bitterness that was brought out in the molten centre.

Hits and misses at this one but if you just stick to the Mezzanine and end with tea and desserts, you should have a rather enjoyable date. Museo also does a weekend high-tea buffet from 1.30 to 5pm. Each diner gets to enjoy an elaborate range of intercontinental dishes, afternoon treats and desserts, complemented by Arteastiq’s signature range of tea sets for just $48 per person.

Museo
31 Ocean Way #01-22 Quayside Isle Singapore 098375
Tel: +65 6734 8066
Monday to Thursday: 2pm to 1am
Friday to Saturday: 1.30pm to 2am
Sunday: 1.30pm to 1am

Facial Virgin. That's me. Never have i in my 20+ years of existence gone for a facial treatment. Obviously my grooming in other areas didn't apply to skincare. Well, I'm really thankful to Yanni for taking such great care of my face, ensuring that my skin is repaired and nourished!

This time i decided to try the DRx Medispa Essential Facial (Plus) at Yanni's recommendation. This is DRx's fundamental treatment for good complexion and it has won CozyCot Holy Grail Award 2008 and All Time Favorite Facial of Elle Magazine's Beauty IT List 2009. Essential Facial treatment consists of Ultrasonic Cleansing, Ultrasonic Nutrient Delivery (PG-Vit) and a therapeutic mask, while Essential facial (Plus) adds Microdermabrasion to the program. After trying it for myself, I gotta say that I'm a huge fan!

Anyway, since starting on DRx's products, there has been a visible change in the condition of my skin. Lorna was very happy with my skin color. She almost didn't recognize me when i went back for my first review. Hee. According to her, my skin was 2 shades lighter! There are also fewer bumps thanks to the Comedone Formula (CF) though there're still some little pimples. One thing for sure is the brighter skin. You should definitely use Max C if you want glowing skin.

Step 1: Microdermabrasion. A diamond tipped hand piece is used to remove the superficial layers of skin with a diamond tipped handpiece. This was quite enjoyable actually and all i felt was a light suction. Absolutely painless. My skin was smoother immediately after.

Here's my dead skin! Heh. When this treatment is repeated over time, your skin will have fewer lines, smaller facial pores and reduced superficial scars. I like!

Step 2: Ultrasonic Cleansing. Ultrasound is used to eliminate dead cells from the skin surface and loosen impurities, oils and comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) that are embedded in pores. The blackheads can then be easily extracted. This prepares the skin for effective penetration of therapeutic substances that follow. It sounded like a dentist drill! O the horror. I was expecting it to hurt but there was only a light buzzing sensation on my skin.

Look at the oil that was surfaced! EEEKS!

For the Ultrasonic Nutrient Delivery (PG-Vit), Vennice, my therapist assessed my skin condition and decided that PG Vitamin C would be best for me. This stimulates the production of collagen in the dermis for firmer smoother and younger skin. Vit C also helps with whitening and i swear my skin was glowing after the treatment.

After which, my face was ready for extraction. That is the scariest word in any facial i swear. My virgin facial face obviously had a lot of things to be extracted. It was painful, especially for first timers but it was worth it. I've never seen my nose so smooth and void of strawberry heads my entire life!Vennice had to work darn hard on my face. Who knew that my relatively clear face had so many blackheads to remove. She did show some sympathy when i confessed that she's my first and she promised it will be better next time.

Finally, a therapeutic mask to calm the skin from all that squeezing. DRx's Alginate mask is made from high quality marine-derived ingredients. I suppose it rejuvenates the skin as well. :)

I got a shock when i saw my face after the treatment. There were big bumps where the blackheads were very stubborn. This is me sans make up and filter. :( Chester tried to console me by telling me that he has seen way worst and promised that my face will be fine in 3 days. 

This is me 3 days later, with a little bit of concealer under the eye and drawn brows. Whee! With sun screen of course. This is my standard 'made up' face actually. The big red spots were almost gone and my skin was really glowing. Some lines from my Vit A which causes some drying, but yea. I'm extremely happy with the facial! 

The Essential Facial is $115 (45 mins) and $215 for the Plus version with Microdermabrasion (15 mins). 

The DRx Medispa
302 Orchard Road, #14-02
Tong Building (next to Paragon Shopping Centre)
Singapore 238862
Tel: +65 6223 1555
Mon to Sat: 10am to 8pm
Sun: 10am to 6pm

If all mooncakes were made like Yan Ting's, i would certainly be a mooncake fan. Of all the snowskin mooncakes that i've tasted this Mid Autumn season, Yan Ting is, without a doubt, DA BEST.

Let's start with the skin. The skin was supple and yielded nicely to the smooth paste that it encased. There was the little bit of chewiness that was similar to that of a Japanese mochi, something that i appreciate in a snowskin. What's best was that it didn't have that overpowering vanilla essence.

There are five new snowskin mooncake flavors that are created by Yan Ting this year. There's the decadent Pure Mao Shan Wang premium Durian, tangy Mixed Berries with Strawberry Paste, fragrant and light bittersweet Green Tea with Melon Seeds and the smooth and hearty Purple Sweet Potato.

What I love is the use of fresh and natural ingredients. I thought I was biting into real fruits when I had the berries mooncake. All the mooncakes were also of a subtle hint of sweetness which makes them really easy to devour. At least i could pretend that they are healthier? Hur hur.

If i can only have one mooncake ever, it would have to be the Royal Milk Tea Snowskin Mooncake with Red Bean Paste and White Chocolate Champagne Truffle. I could get high on the champagne truffle that is smooth creamy and intense. Double that high with the strong milk tea with a lingering aroma. This is too good I swear. 

For gifting, the Premium Gift Set (8 assorted snowskin $138, 4 traditional baked mooncakes $158) comes with a charming oriental tea pot with two teacups and a canister of a premium grade Dongding Oolong tea. The regular boxes are also very pretty (as shown in the first picture) and could double up as a really solid jewelry case (which my mama happily kept).

Yan Ting's mooncakes are available on sale till 19 Sep. Go get yourself some of that champagne truffle one. Cross my heart you won't regret it. 

Prices for a box of 8 snowskin

Single flavor (8pcs)- $66.80

Assorted- $67.80

Champagne truffle- $68.80

Pure ‘Mao Shan Wang’ Durian- $108.00

Yan Ting

St. Regis Singapore, Level 1U
29 Tanglin Road
Tel: +65 6506 6887

What the Mid Autumn Festival a.k.a. Mooncake Festival spells for food reviewers is the endless supply of mooncakes that threatens the waistline and jawline. While i enjoyed the innovative variety of snowskin creations from the various hotels, i found myself craving for something different, something savory. My cravings must have been heard by the good people at Thye Moh Chan, who sent over some salty teochew mooncakes to neutralize all that sweetness.

I wouldn't call them mooncakes actually because they are more like the 'piah' (chinese pastries) that i grew up eating. I love the salty tau sar piah (mung bean paste pastries) since young and hence i really enjoyed the savory mooncakes that Thye Moh Chan offered. 

TMC has been handcrafting these ethereal-light flaky pastry skin with a selection of fillings laboriously by hand since 1943. My mama was raving about them when we walked past the store at Chinatown Point previously. Needless to say, my little old lady left the store with a huge bag of traditional biscuits. You could imagine her happiness when the mooncakes arrived. I didn't even get a chance to get a proper picture before she dug in. 

Sweet or Salty tau sar (single yolk) Medium (4pc/box) - $24.80, Large (1pc/box) - $22.80

The sweet and savoury mung bean filling each enveloped a single salted egg yolk. The sweet rendition is topped with white sesame, while the savoury encompasses a blend of salty mung bean paste with fried shallots, white sesame and is seasoned with white pepper. They crumbled very easily and i found that it is easier to scoop each slice up with a spoon so that you can taste all the filling.

My favorite flavor was the Yuan Yang! Medium (4pc/box) - $24.80, Large (1pc/box) - $22.80

It is similar to the Salty tau sar but on top of that, there's spicy pork floss in them! ZOMG. I guess that's also some of the Breadtalk influence as they have been running under the Breadtalk brand for a while now. Not that i'm complaining. The pork floss adds on that tinge of sweetness which gives this mooncake a more complex flavor. Super yums!

Mummy's favorite is the Double Delight. Medium (4pc/box) - $24.80

Other than the red bean paste, there's the unique ‘crystal’ filling made with winter melon, melon seeds, dried orange peel, white sesame, spring onions, and glutinous rice flour. Sticky, chewy and sweet. Guess that's how i got my sweet tooth. ;)

There's also the rare Durian flavored one during this MAF period. Limited quantities of this smooth D24 durian-infused bean paste and crispy pastry could be purchased only at Thye Moh Chan outlets for $35.20 for 4 medium sized mooncakes.

For something to symbolize the big round moon during MAF, you could go for the Traditional Teochew Mooncake ($18/pc) which is a delightful combination of maltose, white sesame, dried kumquat and five-spice powder.

All the mooncakes are produced in limited quantities so you are encouraged to place your orders in advance for collection till 15 September. Mooncake vouchers are also available for gifting purposes and you can also mix and match the flavors too.

Thye Moh Chan

Parkway Parade Basement 1, 80 Marine Parade Road Food Republic
Tel: +65 6344 8885
Chinatown Point, 133 New Bridge Road, #01-45
Tel: +65 6604 8858
Daily: 10am – 10pm 

Finally checked out Smitten after walking past it a gazillion times that i've been to Robertson Quay. The small food selection has kinda deterred me from dining in for brunch but somehow it seemed quite perfect for a light dinner post yoga class. I'm obviously happy to have breakfast food for any meal of the day. :)

Don't go there expect large cooked meals for there are none. However, a selection of cakes, little baked goods and some sandwiches are available. It's only decent that any coffee place provides some sort of little bites to go along with the drinks.

Sadly, the coffee is not as good as i expected it to be. S said he could taste the bitterness from the over roasted beans but it was kinda masked with the milk when it was hot. The bitterness was even more so apparent when the drink was cool and that's when the sourness came out as well. Meh.

The homemade granola fared so much better. S didn't wanna eat anything at first but he kept stealing from my bowl! Nothing makes us happier than yogurt with granola and fresh fruits. It also came with milk on the side for those who wants a lil more moisture in their bowl but my personal preference is that yogurt alone would suffice.

There were bananas, strawberries, blueberries and nuts in this one. I thought there were some crunchy dehydrated bananas as well. Very satisfying.

We were rather surprised of the huge crowd that showed up sometime after. The place was packed at 9pm! Didn't know that the coffee culture is going so strong in Singapore these days. Don't suppose people need to sleep anymore. Or maybe it was a pre clubbing shot of adrenalin. Who knows.

Smitten
#01-11, 60 Robertson Quay
Tel: +65 9876 2347
Mon, Wed, Thu: 10am - 10pm
Sat - Sun: 9am - 11pm

I do love the St. Regis Singapore for its array of delectable dining options. There's Yan Ting for fine dining Chinese cuisine, La Brezza for casual Italian and Brasserie Les Saveurs for everything else. Out of the lot, i could see myself dining at BLS most often. Champagne Brunch, Afternoon Tea, French dinner.. there's hardly anything BLS can't execute with panache.

In fact, this was my third time dining at Brasserie Les Saveurs. This time i sampled the a la carte dishes.

As we waited for our food to be served, we were serenaded by the lovely music.

Our amuse bouche was the Steak Tartare. Light seasoning was used in this version of the tartare. Despite the thicker slices of the meat, the dish was silky and smooth, as was the flavor of the meat. 

Second course was the Salade Nicoise. I can't never get enough of salads and this was refreshing with a touch of sweetness. Black pepper seared yellow fin tuna, mesclun leaves, quail eggs with marinated anchovies, green beans and Kalamata olives.

Next we had the Bouillabaisse Facon Les Saveurs which is a Fisherman's seafood stew slow simmered with fennel and saffron. While the seafood were fresh, i found the dish lacking in the rich seafood flavors that i'm accustomed to in a traditional bouillabaisse. I much enjoyed the lovely Rouille sauce with crusty bread as that added more robustness to the dish. 

I could die many times over as long as i get my pan seared Foie Gras Poéle. BLS version is that with apple and rhubard compote, "sauternes" reduction raisins and brioche toast. Remember to separate the brioche from the compote asap so that it doesn't get soggy.

My favorite dish of the night was the Le Homard Thermidor. Huge Boston lobster flamed with cognac, mushroom bechamel sauce and gratinee gruyere. This is exactly how i love my baked seafood, with lotsa cream and cheese but still maintaining the sweetness of the crustacean. Oh and it's HUGE. Did i mentioned that already?

Then came the Filet Mignon Sauce Au Poivre, a grilled beef tenderloin served with a dense truffled mashed potatoes and peppercorn sauce. Our fillet was served a little done for my liking. We should only eat medium rare steaks. The dense and starchy truffled mash cannot be missed. Despite my exploding tummy, i couldn't stop myself from eating it. 

Dessert was the Le Gateâu À La Banane- Banana mousse cake and apricot compote, mango salsa, banana and ginger ice cream. I'm not a fan of mousse cake or bananas so i'd be biased. The ginger was kinda lacking in the ice cream and hence the overall combination fell a little flat with all the banana flavor.

Other than a la carte dishes, Brasserie Les Saveurs also has executive set lunches on weekdays, weekend afternoon tea (with a full scone bar!) and Sunday Champagne brunch. For dinner, they also offer a set meal with a semi buffet for $88/pax. Found BLS quite perfect for all dining occasions. From business lunches to vibrant afternoon tea (they have a scone bar!!) and tea dances, to evenings of gastronomic dining, BLS does everything well. Oh and there's also that giggly Champagne Brunch on Sundays. 

Brasserie Les Saveurs
The St. Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Road

Tel: + 65 6506 6866
Daily: 6,30am – 11pm 

Sunday Brunch: 12 - 2.30pm

When the going gets tough, the tough goes eating. A couple of us at office decided that we needed to reward ourselves for the hard work that we did in the week and we made a last minute reservation at East Ocean Teochew Restaurant for lunch. We were in fact spoiled by the dim sum offerings in Orchard e.g. Imperial Treasures Teochew Restaurant, Kam Boat etc. Now you know where to go for decent dim sum in town. :)

I was surprised that we could get a last minute table for 10pax because it is always hard at IT! My colleague is a regular there so they made special arrangements for us despite us adding on the numbers. The place was packed when we got to the restaurant at noon so do remember to make your reservations.

This is what happens when you leave the order form with me. The table was cleared and filled 4 times throughout our meal! Heh. Well, you know you'll never starve when i'm around.


You MUST order the mini egg tarts ($5.80 for 4). One is not enough for anyone i swear. The light and flaky puff pastry carefully held the wobbly golden custard which was like an egg cream. I'm drooling at the thought of it now..

I swear by anything that has shrimps in them. Every prawn dish that we tasted were fabulous owing to the fresh and succulent seafood. Just look at those Har Gows ($6 per basket).

I love the thin and springy steamed rice rolls and the shrimp ($5.80) and scallop ($6) ones were stellar. Definitely value for money given the size of the prawns! 3 rolls with 3 prawns in each of them.

Another variation of prawn dim sum. The Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Prawn Roll ($5.80). If you want the healthier option, there is also the steamed version of this for the same price and we ordered that as well! Heh. 

Ordered some Century Egg Porridge for sharing. Don't you love congee? Each bowl had chunks of century egg in them.

I went a little overboard with the Steamed Glutinous Rice Rolls ($3.90 for 3). I didn't know that there were 3 mini ones in each basket and so i ordered 2 baskets. At this point i think murderous glares were thrown at me... BUT they were nice because the glutinous rice was sufficiently steamed and hence soft and lightly sticky. We didn't fare too badly, having only to pack 2 rolls back to office.

The pork dishes weren't that great as compared to the prawn ones. It's not that they weren't good, they were just not that great in comparison. Here are the Siew Mais ($5 for 4).

I was really looking forward to the Baked BBQ Pork Bun ($6 for 3) but was sorely disappointed. Imperial Treasures Bakery sells better buns that you can take away for cheaper. The pork was weirdly savory with onions in them that weren't caramelized enough. The milky bo lo bao crust was alright but at some parts the bun to meat ratio was too much. I also found some parts of the bun a little hard and crusty in the stale way.

The highlight of the meal was supposed to be the steamed Custard Bun ($5 for 4). I expected to end lunch on a high and sweet note but....

I didn't like the salted egg yolk custard because it was WAAAAAAAAAY too sweet!

While there was a good bun to filling ratio in this one and i liked the dense texture of the steamed bun, the sweetness was an overkill. Will not order this again. :(

There were more dishes that we ordered but i think this is kinda sufficient to make up your mind on dining at East Ocean Restaurant. I sure wouldn't mind going back considering the good price point and high quality of the dishes. The final bill came up to $24 per pax inclusive of GST and service charge. Not bad hur! Something to keep in mind when you're in town!

Photos taken on my iPhone because it was an impromptu food session. :)

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant

391 Orchard Road #05-08/09 Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872 Tel: +65 6235 9088 Weekdays: 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm Weekends and PH:10am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm