Häagen-Dazs Journey of Indulgence

Have you seen the Häagen-Dazs bus in the city? Circling from Esplanade to Orchard Road and back again? Do you know that the people on board the open top double decker bus get to indulge in free-flowing Häagen-Dazs ice cream, gourmet chocolates and bubbly champagne?

Do you want to get on it as well? If you do, you got to hurry up! Only 900 pairs of tickets will be given out!

How to get a pair of tickets? Head down to any of the 13 Häagen-Dazs cafes across Singapore and spend $50 (Dine-in only, before service charge and GST) to receive two complimentary tickets to the bus. There will be three rides a day at 7pm, 8pm and 9 pm from 19 November 2011 to 4 December 2011. Each Häagen-Dazs Journey of Indulgence will start and end at Häagen-Dazs Esplanade cafe, going around the CBD area then go under the Orchard Road Christmas lights.

I went up the bus few days ago, courtesy of Häagen-Dazs and Word of Mouth Communications.
Here's my experience of the ride.




Journey starts at the Häagen-Dazs cafe at Esplanade.




A funvee open top bus has been transformed into a Häagen-Dazs bus!




Ain't it cool? (literally!)
Guys, surprise your wife or girlfriend or mother or 'partner'!
Gals, you can do the same.

I have only been to Open Top buses in Paris and not tried the ones in Singapore, so this was a good chance to try it the ones in Singapore. One that is 'free' in a way and serves you food and drinks!




Only on the preview night that Sara Wee will sing to entertain those on the bus. ;-)
On the normal nights, Christmas music will be played on board.



The part that I have been waiting for. Free flow of Häagen-Dazs ice cream served to us.
(photo taken using mobile phone)



Champagne too if you want. If not, water is also served and they were served by Singaporean Santarinas.
(photo taken using mobile phone)



Cheers!
(photo taken using mobile phone)




Oh yes, chocolates were served too. Delicious gourmet chocolates!
(photo taken using mobile phone)

The ride was fun! It was a nice cool night and it was lovely to be on that ride.
The ride ended around 45 minutes later. It was quite an interesting experience. The ride was slow and smooth. It's only on this ride that you hope there is traffic jam so that you can have a longer ride!

The Christmas Lights seemed so different when you are so up high and you go right below it! The lights are already on and it's wonderful.

Christmas Dine-In Creations

So here's some way to spend $50 to get the tickets.
Häagen-Dazs has created 3 irresistible Christmas Dine-In Creations.

Christmas Dine-In Creation 1:There's a Royal Fondue ($48++) that comes with 4 of the popular flavours (Belgian Chocolate, Caramel Biscuit & Cream, Chocolate and Vanilla coated in almond nibs). Baked waffles, marshmallows, brownies, bananas, kiwis and strawberries will be the accompaniments.




Christmas Dine-In Creation 2:

The above is the Christmas Cassata ($16++). Creme Brulee ice cream on a brownie slide, topped with cocoa powder and raspberries, served with a scoop of Cappuccino Truffle ice cream and a scoop of Belgian Chocolate Ice cream.




Christmas Dine-In Creation 3:
This was the "Love in Paradise" ($16++) served with scoops of Belgian Chocolate and Creme Brulee ice cream. There's the dark chocolate cake and served with chocolate seashells and strawberries on the side.

I like the creations above because of the creme brulee ice cream flavour.

If you are looking for Christmas Log Cakes, they are also being sold. New takeaway creations and also gift hampers are now available.

Enjoy the ice cream and the ride if you are the first 900 pairs!

Summer Palace @ The Regent Singapore

This was lunch one Sunday afternoon with KopiKosongGirl and LadyDi recently. LadyDi treated KopiKosongGirl to a birthday lunch. Both ladies were interested in Dim Sum lunch, and made a reservation. I had to privilege to join the ladies too!

We had the Chef Liu's Tasting Menu 5 (for Lunch).
It's $38++ per person, with a minimum of 2 persons having it.

There were 5 items in the tasting menu.

1) Chef' Dim Sum Selection

The ladies with the recommendation from the service staff chose 3 items from the Dim Sum Menu.
But we ordered an extra Dim Sum because we saw the menu and got quite tempted.



We had the Steamed Pumpkin Dumpling as an extra order.
The Dim Sum here were all so delicate. We loved this Pumpkin Dumpling. The savoury and yet a little sweet taste of the pumpkin makes it quite charming. The skin's also thin and you can see the translucency of it from the photo above.



The Steamed Chives Dumpling in Teochew Style.
Look at the presentation of these 3 Dim Sum's that part of the tasting set. It's like a western high tea style 'pretty'. There were succulent prawns in it and the chives were wrapped inside and also part of the soft delicate dumpling skin.



The Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Bird's Nest
How could the ladies resist not ordering this? It's Bird's Nest dumpling! The crunchy prawn dumpling topped with Bird's Nest.

The ladies claimed it's good for their complexion! Eating and getting beautiful at the same time!




Barbecue Pork Buns with Pine Nuts.
Oh, this reminded us a bit of Tim Ho Wan's Polo Bun, but bigger and with more filling too. I love the top part where there is the crumbly pastry. The barbecue pork filling had pine nuts too! I don't mind mind having a couple more of this!


2) Double Boiled Shark's Fin Bone Cartilege Soup with Fish Maw and Bamboo Piths.



For those who believe that shark's cartilage soup has health benefits, these soup was really delicious. The broth has been boiled for hours till it's thick and you can see the high viscosity in the broth.

Anti-shark people, maybe ask for a change or choose another tasting menu.



Generous amount of fish maw and bamboo piths in the soup. This was lovely!



3) Homemade Beancurd with Fish Fillet, Bean Gluten and Vegetables



This was an interesting dish. At a glance, you think the brownish stuff  is all the same. It's 3 ingredients prepared to look the same! There's bean curd at the bottom, fried fish fillet in the middle and bean gluten on top!

The 3 of us like how it was made to blend nicely together. They managed to make all 3 ingredients look almost the same. When you bit it, it has 3 different kind of texture.


4) Steamed Glutinous Rice with Crabmeat



This glutinous rice with crab meat was really good. Served in a mini bamboo dim sum steamer, the rice came steaming hot. To me, it was a joy picking up the rice with a chopstick, enjoying the grains of sticky rice and crabs meat with other ingredients too.

Why do I eat picking grains? To waste time! LOL. When guys join in the ladies, all we need to do is eat, let the ladies talk and gossip. Don't you think they are incredible? Jumping from topic to topic, some that are so far apart and they can make a link to it. I salute them.


5) Combination of Desserts



The dessert was a rather 'yellow/orange' dessert. Mango sago and an cute little egg tart served on a square of yellow egg crepe.

It was a very delightful lunch. It can be quite filling too!

Summer Palace @ The Regent Singapore 1 Cuscaden Road Singapore 249715 T:+65 6733 8888

Zespri - Kiwi Fruit from New Zealand

Recently, I was invited to a Kiwifruit Dinner by Zespri. I gladly accepted the invite because I was curious to know how they will be preparing the dinner, all with the Kiwifruit elements in it.

If you watch Singapore based cooking shows on the Chinese channels, you would have noticed that fruits have been used in many dishes recently. My aunt has also experimented with Kiwi recently and it tasted rather 'refreshing'. She prepared Sotong with Kiwifruit. I don't have the recipe for that, she was just experimenting and we thought it was interesting.

The dinner was at Heart Bistro, a restaurant that serves healthy food along Orchard Road. Zespri Singapore had asked the chef to prepare dinner for a group of us all using Kiwifruit as part of the ingredients.




When we arrived, we were all greeted with a glass of Zesty Zespri!
It's blended Green Kiwi, Green Apple and Honeydew. It has quite an unique taste. Probably because of all the Kiwifruit seeds.


Ms Pooja Vig, the founder of The Nutrition Clinic gave us a talk about how Kiwifruit is regarded as a wonder fruit. She talked about healthy eating and how food can be used for healing as well. I felt a bit embarrassed as I know I eat a lot of food and sometimes the food that I enjoy eating is probably at 9 on the Richter scale for food. I should probably eat healthier fruits if I can daily. Kiwifruit seems to be a fruit can help me!

On the Zespri Singapore website, they claim that:
Kiwifruit has twice the vitamin C of an orange, as much potassium as a banana and only half of the calories.  Kiwifruit is also a good source of magnesium, is sodium free and a low-fat source of vitamin E.




During dinner we were presented with a nutritional talk and slide shows of the goodness of a Kiwifruit. If you see, the Kiwifruit season is ending soon. So if you see them in the supermarket grab them before you need to wait for next year's season!

How many of you eat Kiwifruit skin? Do you know they are nutritious too? I eat some of it at time, for the nutrition it provides, but not all of it, as I find it too 'hairy'.


I am wondering, which Kiwifruit do you all prefer? The Green Kiwifruit or the Gold Kiwifruit?

I like the Gold Kiwifruit but KopiKosongGirl likes the Green Kiwifruit. I like the sweet version and softer texture of the fruit. KopiKosongGirl don't like the Gold ones, but prefer the Green one that has the tangy-sweet taste. I have a feeling most people like the Gold Kiwifruit.

Appetizer

Salad of Kiwi with green mango and crispy fish.
It's a Thai Mango salad with small cubes of Green Kiwifruit in it.

If you are preparing an healthy appetizer for yourself or your family, you can add what I call 'nutrition cubes' into your food. Eg: Kiwifruit and Prawn salad maybe?

For breakfast, 1 Kiwifruit eaten by itself would be the easiest I guess?

Soup

Clear lemongrass scented soup with poached seafood and fresh gold and green kiwi

I particularly liked this soup. It's a tom-yam like soup without the spiciness in it. It's quite interesting to find thin wedges of kiwifruit in the soup. The Green Kiwifruit gave it a little sourish bite while the Gold Kiwifruit gave it a sweet taste.

Mains

Herb and spice roasted spring chicken with Kiwi salsa.

Oh, I am not sure if Heart Bistro has this chicken in their regular menu, if they do, you should come back for it. The Herb and Spice Roasted Spring chicken here is absolutely lovely!

I guess the Kiwi and Tomato Salsa gave it a nice twist too! Another idea is to prepare this salsa and serve it with toasted baguette. I am sure it will be tasty! Or have a sandwich with slices of kiwifruit. That would be a healthy breakfast option too!

Dessert

Kiwi trifle with saffron mousse.

If you are a dessert person, you might grow to love this. The trifle is yummy and you can download the recipe the recipe if you want to make it yourself.

I have uploaded the PDF file of the recipe provided by Zespri here.




In Singapore, we usually see the Gold and Green Kiwifruit on sale.
I only found out that night that there's now the Organic Zespri Kiwi on sale in Singapore. Look out for it if you prefer to eat organic fruits.



During the Q&A, we asked the Zespri Kiwifruit experts some questions.
Here are some that might be interesting to you as well.

Are the kiwifruit ready to eat when we buy them?
The Gold Kiwifruit is picked when it's almost ripening, and when it reaches the stores, they are almost ready to eat. The Green Kiwifruit might take longer to ripen when you buy them. It depends on how long the retailer already had them on their shelves.

Is there a way to hasten the ripening of the fruit?
Yes! Put the kiwifruit in a bag with an apple or banana. The ethylene will hasten the ripening of the kiwifruit. 

What is the best way to store Kiwifruits?
The best way is to store them at room temperature until it ripens. Feel the Kiwifruit with your fingers, they are ripe when they yield gently to your touch. Put them in the fridge to cool only when they have ripen.


Hope this post has been informative to you all.

UCA Cassava Chips by Tai Sun

Have you seen these colourful packs of chips at the supermarket recently?

I was recently given 2 packs of each to try and I tested it on my colleagues in the office and also the 2 ladies at home who loves to snack.

Tai Sun who most are familiar with the range of nuts have recently launched a brand of chips called UCA. The chips are made from cassava, a type of tapioca. I think most of us have eaten tapioca chips. Usually available in clear plastic packets.

According to their press release, UCA has lesser calories, fat and sodium than most potato chips.



They are available in 120gm packs and are the big packs of chips, similar to the big pack of chips usually available on supermarket shelves.

3 flavours available are the Original, Hot and Spicy, Grill BBQ.
3 captions that captured my attention, Cholesterol Free, Trans Fat Free and Gluten Free.

The Original flavour. 

It seems that most colleagues and the 2 ladies at home love the original flavour.

The first bite and they say, this taste familiar. It's tapioca chips right? The types that "uncle" carry big huge bags to sell in offices. (Does your office have that too? haha)

These chips are surprisingly less oily and not too salty. It's also wonderfully crispy.



My sis watches this all the time, so it's here for you to compare to your regular chips.

Grilled BBQ Flavour

The Grill BBQ flavour is my favorite though. I like things with BBQ flavour or French Onions.
So this flavour suits me.



For those who reads the nutrition information.

Hot and Spicy Flavour

For this flavour, it taste rather spicy but my head registers it as something lacking.

I was thinking of the usual spicy tapioca chips that we buy, the ones with the sticky, gooey and oily texture that covers the tapioca chips and sometimes with peanuts before I opened the pack.

I saw the above and it looks like the rest. This is the healthier version of it.
The chilli has a biting kind of feel.




Compared to potato chips, cassava chips has 10% less calories, 40% less fat and up to 40% less sodium too.

Most ofter kind of chips, eg potato and corn chips costs $4-8 depending on where it's from. Guess the price of these chips? It's only S$2.30

UCA Cassava Chips is manufactured by Tai Sun (Lim Kee) Food Industries Pte Ltd. It's a Singapore-based company that has been around since 1966. They have attained HACCP certification so you know these chips are manufactured and packed hygienically.

For more information you can visit www.taisun.com.sg

Bar Hopping @ Changi Airport Terminals 1, 2 and 3, Singapore

About 2 Fridays ago, if you have been following me on Twitter, Facebook or on Instagram on the iPhone, you would have followed me on my adventure around the 3 Terminals at Changi Airport.

What were the group of 5 of us doing? We were bar-hopping in the Departure / Transit Area of the airport, i.e. the section after you have passed the Immigration. While bar-hopping we also got to visit the Butterfly Garden and discovered that there are 2 Movie Theatres at the airport too.

There are just so many things to do in the airport, each Terminal has about 100 shops or more. The whole airport is like 3 huge shopping, adventure, eating and drinking mall!

How early do you always check in for your flights? There are people who like to check-in online and arrive at the airport just in time. If you do that, you are missing out what Changi Airport has to offer. Do you know that for some airlines, you can check-in 24 hours before the flight? Check this page for the timing. The past few years I have been checking in 2 to 3 hours early so that I can roam the airport. I have this fascination about airports that I can't explain.

Anyway, if you have been to Changi Airport recently, you would have noticed the Fabulous Fridays Deals that is going on.  I flew back to Singapore the other day and I was in a rush to go home I forgot about the deals. So the next time you are flying in or out of Changi Airport on Fridays, remember to go early or stay back later. In the past few months, they were featuring different themes such as Perfume and Cosmetics (SKII Cellumination and Laneige Water Sleeping pack was at 30% off) and Electronics (iPad2 going at 30% off).

The Fabulous Friday theme for November is "Liquor". Selected liquors will be offered at 50% off! All shoppers need to do is to spend a minimum of $30 via Visa or $60 by other means at any retail or dining outlets at Changi. Present the receipt at the event area and redeem these vouchers to enjoy fabulous savings.

Follow me as I remember the trip around the 3 Terminals of Changi Airport for the Bar-Hopping Experience.

>> Changi Airport Terminal 3 - Hard Rock Cafe



The adventure started with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe at Terminal 3.

Do you know that the Hard Rock Cafe at Terminal 3 is the first Hard Rock Cafe in an airport in the world? The menu is pretty interesting and most of it I remember being told can also be found at the city branch.



The Hurricane ($18) and if you opt for it to be served in a souvenir glass ($30) that you can bring that glass home!

What's inside? It's a rumbling blend of orange, mango and pineapple juice, infused with Bacardi Superior Rum, dark rum, amaretto and grenadine and garnished with an orange and maraschino cherry.

I would say 'potent'.



The Triple Platinum Margarita ($15) and you want a Keeper, ie with the Margarita Glass it's $30.
It's a mix of Sauza Gold Tequila, triple sec, Grand Marnier and margarita mix come together to provide the ultimate margarita experience.



The Exotic Margarita ($22)
It's a Patrón Silver Tequila and triple sec mixed with Monin Pomegranate syrup and margarita mix.



If you want a non-alcoholic drink, this is an example of it.
The Groupie Grind ($8) with Margarita Glass ($23)

It's made from Mango purée, piña colada mix and pineapple juice blended with a strawberry swirl. I find this very nice!



This was the Crushed Velvet ($8) with Martini Glass ($23)

It's Monin Pomegranate and Monin Raspberry syrup combined with fresh lemonade and Sprite. I warn you this was super super sweet!

End of Stop 1. We tried 5 drinks.
My personal favourite was probably the Groupie Grind.




>> Changi Airport Terminal 1 - Harry's Bar at the Cactus Garden



Did you know that there's a Cactus Garden on the rooftop of Terminal 1?

I did not until this bar-hopping adventure. The Cactus Garden is where Harry's Bar is located. There are 40 species of cacti and succulents that they brought in from Africa and the Americas. It was dark at night so I did not go around. I would come back again during the day time on my next flight out of Terminal 1.

There are Golden Barrels, Silver Touch, Oldman Cactus, towering Prickly-Pear and giant bottle shaped Club-Foot trees. There is also a collection of massive prehistoric Cycads, towering Euphorbia's and tree-like Dracaenas. (Information that I got from the Changi Airport website) There are also metal cactus plants that glows at night! These were the ones that I could see at night. LOL




This was Dirty Harry. ($15)
It's a mix of Vodka, Lychee Liqueur, Brown sugar and lime wedges.




The Dry Martini. ($14)
I found out that night that I don't like Martinis at all! Just not my type of drink. ;-)



The Jungle Juice ($15)
It's a blend of Banana Liqueur, Malibu, Midori Melon Liqueur, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice and Grenadine.

I like this! It just taste so refreshing!




The Strawberry Margarita ($15)



The Singapore Sling ($15)



The bartender really know his stuff. When asked to come up with a drink, he mixed a special drink for us. Cointreau, cranberry and lime with a orange fragrance. The fragrance was from a slice of orange peel that was set aflame.

End of Stop 2. We tried 6 drinks. Total 11 drinks for the night.
My personal favourite was probably the Jungle Juice.



>> Changi Airport Terminal 1 - Swimming Pool and Bar



I heard of the swimming pool on the rooftop of Terminal 1 and it's the first time that I set foot into it.
It's next to the Ambassador Transit Hotel that is very very popular. If you are transiting in Changi, it's best to prebook a room if you want to stay there.



It's free entry, you only pay when you want to use a pool when you are not a hotel guest. Non hotel guest pay SGD $13.91 nett. Price for use is inclusive of pool usage, shower, basic toiletries and a non-alcoholic drink.



Remy Martin VSOP.

Note for Airport Visitors on 18 Nov 2011:
Transit Area: Remy VSOP (1 litre) - Usual price $70.50, Special Price on 18 Nov only $35.25
Public Area: Remy Martin VSOP (750 ml) - Usual price $105.00, Special price on 18 Nov only $52.50



Johnnie Walker Black Label.

I should have blogged this earlier. On 4 Nov, Johnnie Walker Black Label was part of the Fabulous Friday special.

Anyway, for the Fabulous Friday 25 Nov deal, Vodka drinkers would be glad.
Transit Area: Grey Goose Original - Usual price $57.00, Special Price on 25 Nov only $28.50
Public Area: Absolute Vodka Blue (750 ml) - Usual price $66.50, Special price on 25 Nov only $33.25



Black Label and Remy Martin's again not my kind of drink.
If you like a sweeter version of the Singapore Sling ($18.50 nett), try it here at the Pool Bar.

The bartender said, their follow quite closely the original Singapore Sling recipe.

End of Stop 3. We tried 3 drinks. Total 14 drinks for the night.
My personal favourite was probably the Singapore Sling here, since I don't like hard liquor.



>> Changi Airport Terminal 2 - Hari's Pub



This is different from Harry's Bar that we went earlier. This is Hari's Pub.
Smoker who are dying to get a puff after or before going up the plane (smoking is bad by the way! Seek help from Health Promotion Board's Quit4Life if you can.) can come here.



Fuzzy Navel ($16 nett)
Mix of Vodka and Peach




Limelight ($16 nett)
Sweet, Smoky and a bit of lime.



Green Ice ($16 nett)
Mix of Vodka,  Gin, Tequila, Rum and Midori.



Negroni ($16 nett)
Mix of Campari, Gin and Martini.

We also had another Negroni variant that was lighter. That was mixed with Soda. I can't take it. Still too strong for me.




House Beer. It's incredibly nice. Very smooth and easy to drink.
We were listening to the Manager explaining to us that most house beer are made in house, but for theirs, they get someone to brew it for them. Only when it's done at a brewery they can get it so light, smooth and consistent. Too many kind of alcohol in the system, I can't remember who brew it for them.

End of Stop 4. We tried 6 drinks. Total 20 drinks for the night.
My personal favourite was probably the Singapore Sling here, since I don't like hard liquor.


>> Changi Airport Terminal 2 - O'Learys Sports Bar and Grill



O'Learys Sports Bar and Grill at Terminal 2 serves food that's similar to Hard Rock Cafe in Terminal 3. I was reading Instagram and Twitter replies plus the Changi Airport staff, half seems to like Hard Rock better, the other half thinks O'Learys is nicer.

What do you think?



I always think it's fun to sit at the bar counter.
I think it's because I can 'see' what the barman is doing.




Tiger Beer.



We got to try out 2 new drinks that they are going to serve in their menu. I think it's available now since it's November.

The Cosmopolitan.
A mix of Vodka, Cointreau, Lime Juice and Cranberry Juice.



The Sidecar.
Remy Martin, Cointreau and Lime Juice.



Kir Royale.
Crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) in Champagne.




Thanks to the manager here, he said we should try this.
Their signature Chicken Quesadilla. It's nice to have something to eat after drinking so many kinds of spirits. It is nice. Something warm after all the cold drinks.


End of Stop 5. We tried 4 drinks. Total 24 drinks for the night.
My personal favourite was probably the Chicken Quesadilla. I think too much alcohol has numb the brains. LOL



>> Changi Airport Terminal 3 - Tiger Signature Bar



We got back to Terminal 3. Tiger has their Signature Bar here.
Previously known as the Tiger Champions Lounge, they have renovated and it's call Tiger Signature Bar.



See your favourite drink there?



It was like 12:45 in the morning and we were half awake and half filled with the spirit.
But when some deep fried food was served, we ate it.



The drink to try here is Tiger Crystal.  It's the lighter version of the original Tiger Beer. It's lower in alcohol content too, at 4.3% instead of 5%.

You can see how cold the beer is. The beer tap was frozen with ice!



Tiger Crystal. ($12)



Their version of Singapore Sling. ($20)
Of the many versions of Singapore Sling, I like the version here.


End of Stop 6. We tried 4 drinks, 2 kinds. Total 28 drinks for the night.

My personal favourite was probably the Tiger Crystal.

Now, that was quite an adventure isn't it? There are many more drinking places to visit in Changi Airport, but we could only do that many in around 6 hours. Do you know that Anthony Bourdain said that Changi Airport is one of the Top 3 Airport Bars in the World?

The next time you are flying through Changi Airport, check in early! There are things to discover at this wonderful airport. The places above also serves non-alcoholic drinks. While walking around, I also discovered something else. There are also as many Coffee places in Changi Airport! The next time I fly out, maybe I shall recce the place and find Chocolate and Chocolate Drink places!



Please, please drink responsibly. We shared the drinks and did not finished them all.


This bar-hopping adventure has been made possible thanks to Corporate Communications Office of the Changi Airport Group.