Tioman, Malaysia

I come from a very non-accepting family, but I'm very accepting. - Katy Perry

Monsoon season for this year is coming soon therefore I had my last short quick dive trip 2 weeks ago. I went to Tioman for the weekend.  This small island is always recommended by dive centres in Singapore, this island is likely to be selected by divers for their final in open water course. Tioman is a popular destination for weekend trip because apart that it's relatively near to Singapore, the actual potential of this island that is surrounded by numerous coral reefs. Tioman's beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie, South Pacific as Bali Hai. In the 1970s, TIME Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands. (as per wiki)

So after liaising back and forth email finally we decided as a team. On one fine Friday after work, I began my journey, we hired an MPV and drove to Mersing and stay a night in hotel Timotel, before crossing over to Tioman the next early morning, to catch a 6:30am ferry. Hotel Timotel is a small decent average clean hotel that provide a complimentary shuttle service to the jetty (8 minutes away from jetty) and complimentary coffee/tea toast in the morning. Please inform the front office if you require an early preparation breakfast and morning call. At that night we managed to get 3 hours sleep woke up half zombie at 4am and get ready. Room rate for this hotel around RM 60 per person per night.


The ride quite bumpy, long and freezing….please bring a sweater and socks (normally the one that passenger fondly slip to handbag quietly while on the flight and it proven to be useful just like this rare occasion) for me it's necessary to wear it cause it can get pretty cold in the boat. After 2 hours on and off nap in the ferry, then we arrived Tioman. 

Sunshine...hahhh..such a relief everytime i see a white sand and blue sea.

Can't wait to jump into the sea and greets all the species that swaggering down there. By the time I arrived in Babura Resort, a very convenient resort just next to Tioman Reef Divers. The whole package consists full rental gear (suits, fin, mask, boot, BCD, Regulator, tank, weight and belt) cost RM 50 and RM 450 a package for 4 day dives, 1 night dive and stay in sea view room. Good deal isnt it :)  Iam very lucky as a group that I went with is a regular customer for it.

It was overall a pleasant experiences, I had overcome sea sickness cause a strong current, it was only the 3rd day after full moon and monsoon season is coming for another 2.5 weeks and I also had overcome fear cause nausea under 18m deep, with a low air of 30 bar. I had reach to point of having hallucination underwater that Iam goin to die heheheh I know I am slightly over reacted and the thing that make me paranoid because my mask experienced a leakage in the beginning of this dive trip.

Well here Iam still writing a blog eventhough after several weeks MIA, means that yes I still survive and healthy. :)

I would suggest if you are desperate to dive over a weekend and looking somewhere near Singapore. You only have 1 option to go to Tioman. What you expect to see in Tioman, they have various nudi, giant cuttlefish, colourful sea fan, clown fish, scorpion fish, moral eels and bamboo shark. Well Iam lucky that I saw one large humphead fish. 


However please be super fit if you decided to execute this trip because its very tiring and rushing, with that full schedule in the line. You need an extra extra multivitamin. Apart from Vitamin you need to feed yourself a good food, my way was fed myself with more carbs during this trips, lucky me that all meals are inclusive in the package apart from luxury snacks and drinks. And FYI this resort serves a very delicious dishes, a simple yet yummy meal.


Live to Cherish!

DB Bistro Moderne

Discipline? I don't know the meaning of the word. - Liam Gallagher

In one of the long weekend in Singapore, I was struggling to restore my humanity back as I’ve been lazying myself for several days, I convinced myself to dress up, pull up my jeans and selected one of my loose blouse to wear and certainly not forgetting my peep toe pump, sort of dress up innit?  :) ready to hop, Iam goin to Marina Bay Sands, I was then thrilled because I've been watching Food Channel for the longest times and look forward to dine in one of a well known celebrity chef restaurant. I've decided to have dinner first before enter the casino. Just in case...I suddenly declare a bankruptcy and unable to feed myself afterwards.

DB Bistro Moderne located at 10 Bayfront Ave, #B1-48 Marina Bay Sands

DB is a contemporary French Bistro. The Singapore DB restaurant is resemblance of Manhattan's DB Bistro Moderne, which offers a more casual experiencience.They offers French food while maintaining American bistro theme. Chef Stephan Istel is holding the fort in DB Singapore, he has follow Chef Daniel Boulud for over 3 years now and before he came to Singapore he was the Executive Chef of DB in Vancouver.

 

 Fantastic Bread, especially the cheese bread

Assiette Lyonnaise : Selection of House Made Terrines & Cured Meats, Country Toast

Snail and Chicken Oyster Fricassée: Hazelnut Spetzle, Garlic Confit, Parsley, Love this!! Crispy snail..yumm

Yellow Fin A la Plancha : Corn Fricassee, Mushrooms, Watercress, Sauce Diable

Casserole Espagnole : Mussels, Clams, Shrimp, Chorizo, Olives, Tomato

Clafoutis Tout Chocolate : Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake Chocolate Sorbet, Vanilla Ice Cream

Overall I have enjoyed much the food and ambience, warm lightning, high ceiling, geometric colourful tiles, hanging bulbs, big window, reminiscence of Parisian in a modern fittings , I do look contented at that time. The price range is still affordable as well, will be around SGD 100 per person without wine.


After the splendid dinner,Iam ready for a battle and determined to be millionaire in the casino, Huat ah...!!

Opening Hours Daily Lunch: 11am – 2.30pm, Dinner: 5.30pm – 10.30pm

Mellben

I'm a big woman. I need big hair. - Aretha Franklin 

When a dear friend of mind from Indonesia come to visit me, she was persistent to try this restaurant, she heard alot of great things of Mellben and she had warned me in advance that she would like to check it out, so then we visited Mellben Seafood located at Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, #01-1222, Singapore. Honestly I've been living here for almost 6 years now, but yet at that time I never heard of this restaurant before, it was very pathetic of me because the name of this restaurant is well known over the other country and yet I do not know. I think Iam indenial of not being solitude...wkwkwk

Ok, If you've been yearning for a great fresh big juicy crab, you certainly coming to a right place. 

All method of crab cooking, you can found it in here

Wall of Fame - Crab

Its not an easily accessible venue, however to my surprised there were a long queued lining outside the stall. They stall is large enough to accomodate at least 100 persons. When we obidiently following the perpetual queue. The hostess straight away acknowledge our presence and start to asked 2 essential questions
- How many person? while they handed us the menu then next question would be
- What you would like to order. Sharp and direct. Love it!

They fame of

Butter Crab, you can taste the sweetness and the freshness of the crab. Taste creamy, tiny spicy and they add up a curry leaves for the aroma. It's fairly big size of the crab as well. And I admit that Iam proud of myself of being able to snatched the pincers as soon as its arrives on the dining table like a lightning bolt :)

Sellable Item, Claypot Crab Bee Hoon, the soup is so thick and rich, you cant get enough. They serves a little amount of beehoon however you can add up the bee hoon and of course its chargeable.

and we also order

 Honestly I forgot what it is called, I just know its equivalent tasty as the rest of the dishes

If you are a crab mania,  you have to visit this place. You wont get disappointed, please bare the queue that can be very long. The price is quite high, just close one eye or two, and you will be in crab heaven soon.

Opening Hours Daily 5pm-11pm

Absinthe

The only thing I want to say is, I know I'm not Einstein, but I'm not the queen of the imbeciles either. - Vanessa Paradis

I felt honoured to witnessed a warm yet romantic wedding lunch of my French couple who just got married and registered in Brittany where’s the groom originally coming from. It was a Sunny Saturday and the ceremony was held in Restaurant Absinthe located at 48 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore. The ceremony began with an opening speech by one of the guests and followed with a clap start from one finger each hand then 2, 3, 4 to whole hands at the end, to make sounds similar like drizzling to a rain cats and dogs. French saying “Mariage pluvieux, mariage heureux”. For French, raining is associated with a bountiful harvest, and thus, fertility. Some believe that the rainier the wedding day, the more children the marriage will produce. So ladies and Gentleman, let’s give them a big applause for their blissful marriage.

Felicitation!

And here is the menu

Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Warm Blinis and Morello Cherries

Grilled Cod with Hollandaise Sauce

Lamb Rack serves with mash Potatoes

Cheeses served with a Selection of Bread and Dried Fruits

Earl Grey Crème Brûlée, Strawberry Ice Cream

Warm Pur-Caraibe Chocolate Fondant, Vanilla Ice Cream

Last but not Least; Absinthe

I wondered what is Absinthe apart that is one of the spirits. Well we were lucky that the GM, Mr. Philippe Pau briefly summarise of what Absinthe is. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, Absinthe has a very high level of alcohol by volume that is normally diluted with water when consumed. This drink has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries. A critic said that "Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country". Only in the 1990s countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale. (as per Wiki)  After he explained then he demostrated of how to prepared this dangerous spirits. Absinthe can be prepared in various ways, common is prepared by placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon and then placing the spoon on the glass which has been filled with a shot of absinthe. Ice-cold water is then poured or dripped over the sugar cube so that the water is slowly and evenly displaced into the absinthe, typically 1 part absinthe and 3 to 5 parts water.  The resulting of milky or cloudy water. Releasing these components allows herbal aromas and flavours to bloom and brings out subtleties originally over-powered by the anise. Another way is which a sugar cube soaked in brandy was set aflame.

After all being well presented, I dare myself to have a gulp on this. Hmm well its remind me of Pastis which is definitely not my preferred kind of booze heheheheh.

Overall the dine experienced was pleasant. If you are looking for more than a simple French food, You have definitely found the place. I managed to take a look to their menu, is quite costly, but what you expect from French Restaurant huh?!? The ambiance I guess can be romantically dim during dinner time (depends with whom you are goin with) but the seating allocation can be cramp and squeezy, as the room not spacious, it can be a little bit noisy or chaotic if the space is fully occupied.

Opening Hours Mon-Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 6:30pm-10:30pm and Sat 6:30pm-10:30
Closed on Sunday

Long Phung

I'm a human being and I fall in love and sometimes I don't have control of every situation. - Beyonce Knowles

Another hidden gem in East Side, despite the location in Joo Chiat area, fame for cultural area by day and red light district during night, this area also well known for its hourly transit hotel rent. But apart from all that I also could say that this area can be called 'Mini Vietnam'. The  whole strecth is filled with Vietnamese dodgy bars and its restaurants. But theres only one restaurant that is pack every single day, Vietnamese Cuisine is similiar like Thai Cuisine, Vietnamese Cuisine utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.

Long Phung located at 159 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore

I should warn that they have a pretty long queue and its's not really organised, theres no hostess or server that can guide you to dine in, however they will shout out the persons they need to fill in the empty table once the turn over is ready, hence always be in guard and maintain eye contact and quickly raise your hand if the number of persons suits their announcement. The restaurant is fairly small, they provide big tables more than small tables, can be seated 6 persons per table, so overall this restaurant can covers around 72 persons.

Apart from the seedy crowd and dodgy surroundings, almost the patrons are Vietnamese so I can assume the foods surely pass their tongue approval. The price ranges are afforable. The food varies are wide, you can basically found any typical Vietnames dishes in here. I would highly recommend this place if you are looking for an authectic Vietnamese Cuisine. Dont forget to be aggresively pro-active while you queuing :)

Opening Hours Daily 12pm-1am

El Patio

I think one of the reasons I'm popular again is because I'm wearing a tie. You have to be different.- Tony Bennett

After watching Dexter season after season, I've this craving yearning for....err dont get me wrong, I have no intention in turning into dark passenger but it's just ...I have this strong craving for a Mexican food, so last weekend I managed to pop my head out and visit Holland Village, the place was overly crowded as the new circle line just operated not long ago, so its become easily access to this neighbourhod. Mexican cuisine, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration, variety of spices, and alot of usage of particular ingredients such as corn and beans. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through millennia of blending of indigenous cultures. In November 2010, Mexican cuisine was added by UNESCO to its lists of the world's "intangible cultural heritage". Mexican cuisine is considered one of the most varied in the world, after Chinese and Indian.(as per Wiki)

El Patio located at 34 Lorong Mambong, Singapore

Lime Juice

Chips and Salsa in every table

Supreme Nachos

Beef Fajitas

Chicken Burrito 

Mi Casa es su Casa! as per website, not really actually...heeheh because nevertheless they have a long queue but they dont have any hostess to allocated their guests, I could say that they have a poor services however the food that they served can make a quick recovery. Love the supreme nachos, a great starter nachos, Tortilla chips topped with onions, tomatoes, black beans, jalapenos, melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole. I can sense that my saliva will be dripping soon. And their Fajita a sizzling hot skillet with fresh sauteed onions and bell peppers. Served with guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo and warm flour tortillas. Burrito a hand-rolled flour tortilla wrapped around filling with Mexican rice, black beans, guacamole, salsa fresca and creamy chipotle sauce. (gasping while clapping) sounds superb as it is, will highly recommend this place, ignore the poor services because the foods are worth to try.

Opening Hours Mon-Friday 12pm-11pm, Sat-Sun 11am-11pm

Padang Foods

People always say that you can't please everybody. I think that's a cop-out. Why not attempt it? 'Cause think of all the people you will please if you try.- Kanye West

Feel the more I get older the more I feel that I am returning back to my roots, including my toungue and tummy preferences. Been meant to look for a great Indonesian curry. Padang is the curry city in Indonesia, originally from Minangkabau ethnic group in West Sumatra. Among various cooking traditions in Indonesia, Padang Food demonstrates Indian and Middle Eastern influences, This dishes is well known for its rich taste of coconut milk, spicy chili and also a heavy use of spices.

Warong M Nasir located at 69 Killiney Road, Singapore

Have you experience eating Padang food in a mini gallery? So soothing and surely got a characteristic touch in this place. Jazzy background, wall painted in red that covers with full painting that is coming from various artists.  Apparently  they  entrusted their paintings to be hang in here for selling purposes.

My appetite surely grow everytime I walk in to this place.

Opening Hours Daily 8am-10pm

Arab Street

 

 

I wonder why Che Guevara can be found in this place hmmm

Sheesha (grin)

 

Arab Street is the name of one of neighbourhood in Singapore that I can called "Mini - Arabic" in here you can find an amazing Muslim apparel, Oriental carpets, rattan products and of course foods that serves mainly Middle Eastern, Indian and Malay Cuisine as thats why its explain the name of this neighbourhood. When I am strolling along this place, I cant help noticing the favour of Malay food that I personally called as Padang Food.

Sabar Menanti located at 48 Kandahar Street, Singapore

Sabar Menanti in Malay means 'Wait Patiently', well I can't really guess the connection of its food, because certainly you dont need to wait that long for the foods to be served.  The restaurant itself started over 47 years ago. I heard most of their dishes are sold out by lunch so I suggested do go early as this extremely popular eatery. Served quite decent and reasonable price as well.

Opening Hours 8.30am – 6.00pm

  

Minang located at 18 & 18A Kandahar St, Singapore

Well I do cant take my eyes on that Malay snack display on this Minang place, its cost SGD 1 each...hmm well honestly not as fantastic as whats its looks like.wkwkwkkw suprisingly it was pack by tourists sitting around the restaurant..hmm too bad...

Opening Hours Daily 8am – 6pm

Nasi Padang River Valley located at  55 Zion Road, Singapore

I feel this Padang Place can be overly charge your meal, heheheheh...well nevertheless the food is still can compete with the rest.

Opening Hours 11am-8:30pm, Closed Monday and Public Holidays