Peach Garden Dim Sum Lunch

One Saturday morning, while Pipsqueak and I were lazing in bed, mum burst in and ask if we wanted Dim Sum for lunch. Well I am a sucker for food, plus my folks are paying, so why not. But my mum had no idea where to go for Dim Sum, so I started searching for places to have Dim Sum lunch at a discount. Finally found Peach Garden at Miramar Hotel which has a Dim Sum promotion, so we went there for Dim Sum lunch.

There are no menus, so you order from Dim Sum carts, manned by aunties roving around the restaurant. The variety is quite vast, but sometimes some items are not available so you have to wait. we ordered some Ala-Carte on the menu items such as the fried eggplant with pork floss and salted egg yolk fish skin. I love the fried eggplant with pork floss, it is my favourite dish and I look forward to restaurants who offer such a dish.

 Fried Eggplant with Pork Floss

 Salted Egg Yolk Fish Skin

My favourite Dim Sum is the egg tarts, during my seven months in the USA when it was hard to asian food, with every Chinatown we visit, I will look for good egg tarts and try each store I can find. These egg tarts are the crispy skin, typically Dim Sum shop egg tarts.

Overall the Fried Eggplant with Pork Floss overtook my love for Dim Sum, so I will be back for the Fried Eggplant with Pork Floss.

Things I Miss about the Big Apple.

It has been more than a year since I got back to Singapore and the best times of my independent life was the seven month I spent in USA for school. Despite the three weeks spent in it, New York City always manages to leave a trail in your heart. Whether it is the lights, the food, the culture or even the magical feeling that you can accomplish anything, the Big Apple never cease to amaze anyone.

Here are the list of six things I miss in NYC:

1) Georgetown Cupcakes

You want a cupcake? 

Maybe the best cupcakes I ever had! Georgetown cupcakes originate from Georgetown in Washington DC. My first ever time having it was in NYC and I fell in love with Georgetown Cupcakes instantly. I know people have different opinion on their best cupcakes, but I am the sort of person that does not have a favourite cupcake place in Singapore and when I am in NYC, I have tried Magnolia Bakery and Crumbs.

I love Georgetown Cupcakes to the extend that my housemate and I were craving for it during our semester (Georgetown Cupcakes are not available in Buffalo, WHY!!!), I even considered flying it in just cause I miss it so much. The good thing is that Georgetown Cupcakes are also available in Boston and I took two road trips to Boston (8 hours drive), both times packing at least 2 dozen boxes of Georgetown Cupcakes back home.

2) Shake Shack

Shack Stack and a Shake

My first meal in NYC, the moment I touch down, checked into the hotel (near Grand Central Station), my friends and I headed for Grand Central Station to try Shake Shack for the first time. I love how the buns are soft, the beef feels clean and the cheese and fried Shitake mushroom melts in your mouth, be careful when eating the fried Shitake Mushroom because it has melted cheese inside and it might spurt out when you bite on it, it can burn your tongue. The good news is that Shake Shack is available in other states, so if you are interested in trying great american burger (minus the greasy feeling), Shake Shack is for you.

3)The view of Times Square

Panoramic view of Times Square (Day Time)

 View of Times Square (Night Time)

Times square is beautiful in the day and night, I guess it is the feeling of being part of a crowd that I love and miss. Just the feeling of being in the center of NYC makes you feel like a true blue tourist, the night lights at Times Square are so popular that they have open top tour buses for tourist to enjoy the lights from the top of the bus.

4) Food truck

Food trucks are available all over the city and they are a great source of cheap food, well the cheapest in the city. With a fast food meal costing about $10- $15, these food trucks charge about $6-$8 for a simple chicken over rice (there are other things. They are just one of the few cheaper options for a meal, the food truck brand Halal Guys is also quite famous. I had Halal Guys once and despite the long queue, the food felt satisfying in the cold and sharing it with friends made the experience more awesome.

5) Empire State Building

View from the top of the Empire State

The Empire State Building gets as touristy as it can be, the view up there is just like most tall buildings in the world, however it is one of monuments the big apple is represented by. On the special festive events, such as independence day, the view on the Empire State Building is spectacular, not only does the Empire State has its own celebration (tickets for this event are very expensive, I went after the event). Standing at the top of the Empire State on 4th July, you can see that different celebrations going on in each part of the city, it makes you remember that despite the large area, everyone gathers together to celebrate Independence Day.

The wind is especially challenging up there and only the best hair spray can keep you hair intact. On the other hand, the gift shop does sell merchandises with Empire State Building references, they had a little plushie of King Kong.

6) Central Park

Ice Skating in Central Park

I had the pleasure of seeing Central Park during the colder season. It is chilly and cool, the trees are bare, but the place is beautiful for ice skating. It is the feeling of skating in the middle of the city lights that gets me excited (plus I can skate). 

Living in Singapore, I like to compare each city I go to with my home, NYC might have its similarity with this Red Dot, but every city has it's difference. I look forward to going back to the Big Apple soon.

Faith in the moments of Uncertainty

Having been jobless for quite some time, I feel a sense of uncertainty in my future. In a Singapore where everything is moving so fast, it is normal for many fresh grads to get a job the moment they graduate. The intensity in this job search is quite high and having graduate a year before, I do feel that sense of pressure.

I have been a Christian since I was born, but I only started to take my walk with god much more seriously in the recent months. Relying on God to provide for a job is easier said that done, but I am not giving up on his providence in my life. I have been applying for jobs for about 3 weeks now, I have sent 10 applications and only got 1 interview back. This type of anticipation for a job-interview call is nerve wrecking. Some days I wake up and go "God is in control, he will provide a job!" and other days it is "God help me! I am losing faith". It is not easy to keep my eyes on God despite my circumstances, but a friend of mine has been reminding me to praise God in the little sufferings, such that in the bigger sufferings I can praise him. I was watching Sonia and Andy's vlog about their miscarriage and I was greatly touched by how they were still determined to praise God despite their loss. I know this is maybe one of the few easy adversities I will face, in comparison to the bigger sufferings that are going to hit me in the future.

This week church sermon message hit me hard, it reminded me to keep my eyes on God and not to lose faith in him, no matter my circumstances. My Open Door, which God will provide, will be open soon!

"This is my prayer in the desert

When all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in my hunger and need

My God is the God who provides

And I will bring praise

I will bring praise

No weapon formed against me shall remain

I will rejoice

I will declare

God is my victory and he is here"

-Desert Song, Hillsong

Dinner at Pasta J

Pasta J is a quaint restaurant down at Upper Thomson Road, perfect place if you want to satisfy the pasta craving. I had dinner at Pasta J 2 weeks back, this is my second time there. My first encounter with Pasta J was a mere coincidence. HL and I were walking along Upper Thomson looking for a good place to have dinner, I wanted pasta that night and so we walked through Upper Thomson looking for a good place to have pasta. I was pleasantly surprise with the flavours Pasta J offers as they use pork in most of their dishes. I am very cautious in choosing a pork dish because pork has an after-taste if it is not cooked properly.

The Muddy Mushroom Soup Pasta J offers has a smooth texture, the mushrooms are very well diced, so you can literally drink the soup without having to chew mushroom bits. Pasta J includes bits of pork in their broth to give it an added taste, making it very savoury.

 Muddy Mushroom Soup

 The Bourdain and Mad Mac & Cheese 3.0 with pork sausage patty.

 Mad Mac & Cheese 3.0 with pork sausage patty.

This Mac & Cheese may seem small in size, but it is very filling. Brimming with heaps of cheese and pork, this delectable dish is a great change from the usual Mac & Cheese we enjoy. 

The Bourdain

The Bourdain is a tomato based sauce cooked with pork sausage meat ball and bacon along with some herbs. I believe pesto is used in this dish because Pasta J is famous for its Punchy Pesto Sauce, seems like pesto is involve in everything. I love how addictive The Bourdain, both times I have been here, I had this same dish for my main course.

Lemon, Honey, Rosemary & Ginger Chicken Wings

I was hesitant to order this at first because I don't enjoy ginger, but HL loves chicken so I thought we shall try something different on our second visit here. These chicken wings were well grilled, however I prefer Korean Chicken. Nonetheless it was an interesting dish to try.

All in all, I would recommend this place for the pasta lovers out there and for the pasta skeptics, try Pasta J and you will be changed. On my last note, I still want to go back there and try their pesto dishes, thats if I don't get distracted by The Bourdain again

Website: http://pastaj.com/

Funempolyed Part 1

Hello All,

I am starting out this Funempolyed blog series in hopes to share with everyone things to do in Singapore during transition period (aka School Holidays, Jobless Moments, etc...) of your life. Funempolyed is inspired from the WongFu Production shorts with the same title, where people try things out for fun.

A good friend of mine E and I took on the challenge to cycle from my place to Marina Barrage, had a picnic and cycle back. I broke out my roller blades after a very long time and E cycled my bike with the basket full of food, we could not go too fast because of the heavy basket of food.

Off we go! (Our basket full of food)

The trip took almost an hour and a half and we both had painful butts and legs, but we kept going. We cycled from Area F to Area A in East Coast Park, past one steep bridge which I was afraid to zoom down on my own, so I held on to the back of the bike and we had an awesome time going up and down the bridge. Past East Coast park, we reach the quieter part of Gardens by the Bay. The view there is beautiful.

 View from the quieter side of Garden By the Bay

Trying to take a selfie on my roller blades.

 Green Grapes, Cherry Tomatoes and Sandwiches.

We found the little benches near the glass entrance of the Barrage and set up camp there. It was a good catch-up time we had because E had exams way before that, we talked about everything, my jobless situation, relationships, eating healthy and what god has done in our lives. It was a time to encourage each other in our situation.

 Packing up, just before we set off

Halfway mark on the way home, trying to keep our spirits up.

It was an awesome day of exercise and catch-up after a long time of not talking to each other. Marina Barrage can be awesome challenge you can take on with your friends, turn it into a picnic and have fun with people the people who you love.