What started out as a small taqueria (pron: Ta-Ke-Ria) at The Cannery, Clarke Quay, Señor Taco now expanded into a full-fledged restaurant or Cantina in the quaint location of CHIJMES. A Taqueria is spanish for “Taco Stall” and Cantina practically means “Canteen”. They have definitely made their milestone with their new outlet.
Señor Taco serves a comprehensive array of Mexican street fare, from your Tacos, to your Quesadillas to the items that you’ve probably never heard of.
Some of you who have been to the Crust at Holland Village would be familiar with what they have to offer. Crust serves pizza that are made from ingredients that are fresh, both in taste and in quality. They are definitely not one of those run-of-the-mills type of pizza places.
Crust first started out in Sydney in 2001 and 10 years into the business, they have over 100 outlets around Australia and two international branches. The two international branches are both located in Singapore - one in Holland Village and the other, the recently opened branch in Upper Thomson Road.
Toby started his coffee business in his parent’s garage right down under in Australia. Since then, he has expanded his garage to a coffee chains and now he is in Singapore selling his specialty coffee. In this cafe, you’ll see this huge machine when you enter. That machine is where raw greenish colored coffee beans are roasted into the dark fragrant coffee beans we have come to know.
Many of us are well aware of drinks like Americano, Latte and Cappucino which are all Espresso based drinks. Espresso is a liquid extract of the bean extracted with the help of an espresso machine. But there are at least a 50 other variations of these Espresso based drinks and commercially practiced, at least (see wiki) methods to brewing coffee.
Van Houten has been around for a very, very long time. Its rich history dates back to 1828 when Casparus van Houten Sr. patented a method to inexpensively process cocoa. Later his descendant, Coenraad Van Houten, created the Dutch Process to make chocolate powder more soluble in water.
Today, in year 2011, they are still one of the top leading brands of chocolate that is sold worldwide. I am sure for most of us, Van Houten chocolates are one of few chocolates that we grew up with. I remember melting the chocolate dragee with the almond center in my mouth. Sometimes I’ll just hastily chew on the whole chocolate to see what I get from a bag of Fruit and Nut mix. I love the Van Houten Assorted Neapolitan, with Milk, Mocha and Orange flavors. It’s one of the Chinese New Year Treats I’ll attack, my favorite being the orange flavor.
At some point of times in our life, we have had a taste of the luscious chocolates from Van Houten.
Cocoaphilia aims to reach out to chocolate fanatics like me and tells us that we are not alone. Below are a few photos from the event and I hope they pique your appetite for a bar of Van Houten chocolate at the end of the post.
Triple Three at Mandarin Orchard has in the past served buffets of different themes. This time, they have brought Hokkaido to the buffet table. Jumping onto the Seafood buffet bandwagon, Triple Three has brought in fresh, air-flown seafood. I cannot begin to explain how fresh the seafood are. Nothing tastes worst than raw, fishy seafood that aren’t fresh.
I attended the buffet on the opening night of the buffet spread and we were treated to a surprise – a Live demonstration of preparing a Yellow Fin Tuna. Triple Three impressed by going to the extent of flying in a whole Yellow Fin Tuna.
It was definitely an eye-opener for me because for one, I have never seen a whole Yellow Fin Tuna up close before. And, to have a Japanese chef prepare and slice up the fish before me was definitely delightful.
The stretch of Greenwood Ave is one of those rather hidden and pretty much inaccessible by public transport jewels. But should anyone that decide to make the trip, he/she will not be disappointed at the selection of great cafes and restaurants.
Bronte is a quaint little restaurant that serves up unpretentious Australian comfort food. I was recently invited there to try out their brunch menu. Bronte’s menu does not feature a myriad of items for you to choose from, instead it has just enough items to make it hard for you to make a decision.
We had three mains and three desserts (and some fabulous bubblies in the middle).
Forenote: C.Y. was invited to this workshop as a guest.
The origins of tea started in China, but it was the English that glorified and glamorized the tea drinking culture. The concept of Afternoon and High Teas were started in England after tea was introduced to them.
Twinings has been in the business of tea for over 300 years. It was started by Thomas Twining as a tea room located at 216 Strand, London. Slowly, it expanded to be the multinational business that it is today. Twinings was the first tea company to blend Earl Grey - and it being a special blend requested by Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845).
Today Twinings has over 250 different blends of tea, from the traditional English Breakfast to the modern caffeine-free herbal infusions.
Forenote: C.Y. dined here as a guest of Stellar.
Stellar @ 1-Altitude is another installation by the One-Rochester Group. Many of us would know that 1-Rochester has other fantastic establishments like 1-Twenty Six, 1-Caramel; 1-Altitude and Stellar are the newest additiosn to the 1-Rochester Group. Dining on the 62nd storey of 1 Raffles Place gives one a whole new perspective to fine dining. Take a window seat and you’ll be enjoying not just the food, but a panoramic view of the Singapore skyline.
Stellar serves a menu of modern cuisines, from Japanese to Italian to French. The emphasis here is on the seasonal ingredients and culinary techniques.
Note: This is a continuation from the previous post
Other than the first 6 dishes that was introduced in the previous post, Shi Wei Tian also served up 5 other dishes that had more sophistication and characteristics to them.
Without further ado, I present to you, the other dishes.
Forenote: C.Y., my guest blogger, dined here as their guest.
I’ve always found that the best food are those that feel closer to one’s heart . You’ll immediately get this warm fuzzy feeling inside when you eat them. Food with rich history appeals to me the most; I love old places that have tenants running their little establishments for years. Shi Wei Tian (食唯天), albeit new in the scene, hails with recipes passed down from generations.
glennleems