Tag: travel

Magic (and some Rome shots)

We have reached the point of magic.

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Friends, Christians, Romans (ha ha), the magic has bloomed and taken over us all right now. It’s broken down from an anticipating cloud into a million little sparkles, drenching us from the inside out. As I swoon over all my presents, as I write letters and notes on what I got from who, it strikes me just how much we take for granted this one day. I went upstairs to my room’s cupboard, or what I label my storage cupboard, and rummaged through the years’ accumulation of boxed-up presents and toys and stuffed animals. Sitting on their bums. Nonchalant state, blind, hell, probably bored, but sparkling with the memories born of yesteryears. In Singapore right now, there’s no frolicking in conifer-laden forests, no restless gallivanting in the gelid (I learnt this fun word today, which basically means wintery or cold. Accomplishment number one- done) snow. Pity, isn’t it. I haven’t posted any shots of Rome yet, so please enjoy the cigarette smoke you see streaming out of this man’s hole, as well as the crazy espresso culture I immersed myself in.

Pictures. Nothing more, nothing less, but so profound through my lens.

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Yes, I’m the blur-eyed thing on the left.

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My mother got me something quite wonderful this Christmas, something I can’t bear to disclose here because the excitement and giddiness is both frustrating and overwhelming. I’m angry, so angry at her for spoiling me this way. It actually hurts. Materialistic goods are for the faint of heart, or perhaps those overly ridden with the frivolous joys and majesties of this intrinsically materialistic world, and yet here I am gushing about the latest bag or my new New Scientist subscription and recipe book. No critics allowed here, please.

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Sometimes I forget how small I am. In the midst of two-metre tall letters, bundled up in winter gear, heart thumping, internally applauding the graciousness of God made real and beautiful in the gold, ornate interior of St. Peter’s Basilica. Slivers of light to greet us, the warmth and holiness of hundreds of years preserved for us to revel in.

I’m so happy I shall make some rum-spiced tiramisu.

Yes. Right about now.

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&Made

Burgers (again) with my favourite.

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I don’t know if I’ve ever told you about my everlasting and overwhelming penchant for black and white. This place had it all done up lego-style, not my style in particular, but they tried and their efforts won’t go unappreciated.

My ‘favourite’? Oh right, that thing in the picture box just above, a little to the left. I hope the organism is visible. We sat down to a table, the waiter looking us up and down before taking away the bottle of red wine. Lix doesn’t drink, but I was more than happy to share in his alcoholic innocence. Virginity, almost. I was more ready for a little meat, some afternoon sustenance.

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The ‘B’ Burger, $19 (this goes out to my ask.fm anon who suggested I actually put down the prices of food. Sorry about that. Perhaps I’m not the most inclined to associate price with final taste? I still love you. Just a note, all prices are in SGD.)

‘a juicy, dry aged beef patty atop with caramelised onions (MAJOR PULL FACTOR HERE), French Comté cheese and amazingly delicious caper and garlic mayonnaise’.

Yes, they said ‘amazing’. Like, really amazing, you know. There’s only so much a dollop of mayo can do, but this did quite the trick, pulling the sharper Comté flavour, like a wild character simmered down to white paste, together with the beef patty. My disappointment lies within the doneness of that patty. A little pink in the mid, but that’s it. Utterly overdone otherwise. The bread didn’t sing with grilled crispness, buttery and hardy, the juices scarcely flowed, the cheese did little but offer a mild flavour, with the mayo furthering the dimmed oomph factor. It didn’t come together, to put it lightly. The one thing I did spend time enjoying, mixing with the fries and provided little saucer of their handmade BBQ sauce, which tasted like dry and overly sweet sambal, if you ask me, were the caramelised onions. Because onions. There, done, said.

Disappointed? I should think so. I should really, really think so, especially after meaning to visit this place since June of this year. June, my friend!

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NY Bacon, $21

What my favourite had. ‘traditional dry aged beef patty, smoked bacon, tomato, mayonnaise, pickled cucumber and cheddar cheese’.

A little too American for my taste (you can see he went all out with the vanilla milkshake), but I eyed his patty with envy. Both of ours are dry aged, but evidently his was at least twice as tender, as delicately handled. You could tell just from the outside, maybe a little poke. I stole a bite, yes just a bite, and well, first senses don’t lie. Indeed it was on the less done side, much more to my taste, however the flavour couldn’t beat anything, letting myself down the drain just a little more. No impression, no dropping of jaws. No amazeball fries, either.

Mediocrity is pain. And if you’re one of those people who like hanking down on four inches of a well-glued burger, then well, sorry, this place isn’t for you. Well you could try…

&Made

Rating: 2.9/5

#01-04/05/06, Pacific Plaza, 9 Scotts Road

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Food for Thought (Botanical Gardens)

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Oh, blasted heat.

Those late monday afternoons are never heavily sought after, and yet I had the time of my life just being alone with this special person. Extempore pop-down, down the stairs, welcomed by a floor of benches surrounded by lush greenery, foliage tips sparkling in the sun, an indoor area beckoning.

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Pardon my interruption of a face.

Him: Pulled pork burger and san pellegrino

Me: Breakfast set and homemade lime tea

I can’t exactly fault it, for it is what it is, and nothing more. The toast was thick but not overly dense, with a crusty coat of well settled butter, a curtain of bacon pulling the whole dish together with a salty twist. The eggs were indeed, definitely undercooked on top, as I watched the jelly-like whites shiver and wobble around the circle of yellow. A little post-fry broiling never hurt. His pulled pork pulled off (see what I did there) better depth of flavour, though it could have been twice as tender with a sweeter cut. My tea was as sweet as unsophisticated tea gets, but in that heat, I am still eternally grateful for it. Eternally grateful.

Rating: 3.2/ 5

Food for Thought

Singapore Botanic Gardens

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Relish by Wild Rocket

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I had been meaning to come. After about… Let’s see now. 6 years? No, more. Trust me on this one. It’s the typical case of frequent pass-bys, a longing over-the-shoulder glance, before the trudging and shuffling of running shoes and legs. A blur of legs and beige. Every Sunday I run (well, to be fair it’s more of an extremely brisk walk) to the Botanical Gardens with my dad, and every time I pass by Cluny Court,  I get a vague image of a quaint inside, the round golden domes of speckled sesame seed buns (yes, even though I thoroughly dislike top buns, they make very moreish mental imagery) dotting each table like parasites, juicy, fat meaty bellies, little sauce curds clinging to the sides and bottom of a thick-inch patty.

The waves of desire finally crashed upon the shores when Felix announced a similar longing. Of course! I said.

Of course. Relish.

The interior is so welcoming, with large windows all round to honour the strength of the day’s rays, rimmed with white wood, taking on the old colonial fashion of interior design. Slightly Scandinavian, I thought I heard him say.

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Ram-Lee burger (ramly burger- beef patty, margarine, onions, cabbage, fried egg and Worcestershire sauce)
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open-faced soft-boned char siew burger- thick and sweet pulled pork and coleslaw on homemade focaccia

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The shine and glisten. I ordered the latter.

I actually really enjoyed this. Paired it with a 5-buck pale and fizzy Limonata, which was tart enough to cut through the rich sweetness of the hulk of meat.

If you are strange enough to enjoy the consumption of fat like me, and I mean gloopy, translucent bits of fat, you will adore this dish. I remember the virgin tug of my knife revealed a wobbly hunk of fat beneath a thick and sticky burgundy blanket. Nothing more. I was pretty sure more than 50% of the topping comprised fat and cartilage alone. The char siew itself is not exactly authentic char siew in the sense that the texture was handled differently than what you would get at your local hawker centre, but it worked nonetheless with the sweet coat of flavour. Admittedly, there was a point in time whereby the heavy richness was a little too much to bear, and the paltry side salad lacked enough acidity to accentuate the dangerous sweetness.

After a while, it became slightly one-dimensional, but bearable because the flavours were maintained at a near-explosive level. I also would have preferred a crusty, more hearty cut of bread, as the softness of the ‘homemade focaccia’ all too easily soaked up the gluey sauce, almost rapidly disintegrating into a moist, white mass of stodge. Not all too unpleasant, but a rustic flavour was needed; something more authentic and hardy rather than soft and white and weak. As I picked at his spicy, pickled onions, I also picked up the smoky smell of Worcestershire and the caramelised edges of fried egg. Untried, but I still considered it contact.

The best part?

The relishing of laughter, warmth and airy talk.

Rating: 4.4/ 5

Relish by Wild Rocket

501, Bukit Timah Road

#02-01, Cluny Court

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