Luvverlyn

Lunch-ed at 海外天 Oversea Restaurant (again!); the same day I attended Tom's Palette's Ice Cream Making Workshop.

This time, we tasted a total of 14 dishes(!!) + 1 specialty signature dish. These dishes were like home-cooked food, which I really missed having. The portion was not as big as compared to the previous time though. We managed to finish everything effortlessly (lol). Well, the food was really good! That goes without saying!

We were led to the same VIP room (different table).

 

凉瓜炒爽肉 Wok Fried Crispy Sliced Pork with Bitter Gourd ($9.80)

Pork neck meat is used in this dish, which well explains the tenderness and flavorful taste.

I don't exactly fancy the taste of bitter gourd in general. However, I find that the bitterness is acceptable and adds a lovely crunchy texture to the dish.

 

伊班茄子 Braised Egg Plant with Diced Prawn ($9.80)

l love anything brinjal (egg plant), especially claypot ones (think 鱼香茄子). The aromatic taste of diced prawn complements the brinjal very well.

I like that the brinjal is firm and fresh; has a nice sweet chewy taste. Overripe ones tend to taste bitter and spongy *yucks*

 

We had rice to go along with the dishes.

Hmm... a lil' dry for my liking...

辣子鱼滑 Fried Chilli Fish Paste Roll ($9.80)

The chilli sauce for this dish is home-made; the taste is similar to that of chilli crab.

The fish paste roll has the right QQ texture, reminds me of fishballs! Simple yet tasty :d~

 

鱼汤让四宝 Yong Tau Foo in Superior Fish Broth ($10.80)

The deep fried beancurd skin stuffed with minced fish meat (I think) can be eaten alone or dipped in the superior fish broth. I prefer the latter.

The soup base is rich and taste sooo good! The yong tau foo were cooked just right, somewhat different from the usual fare. Yummy! *SLURPS*

 

菠萝云吞 Sweet & Sour Wok Fried 'Wan-tan' with Pineapple ($12.80)

A simple colorful dish. The 'wan-tan' skin is crispy. Taste ordinarily good.

 

百草西柚霹雳球 Crispy Fish Fillet with Lemon Grass & Grapefruit ($12.80)

The sauce is the key, in my opinion. Kinda like thai-style; sweet & sour. I LIKE!

 

咸鱼蒸鸡腿 Steamed Chicken with Salted Fish ($12.80)

This dish gives me a super homely feel.

I love chicken thigh meat; so tender! I love salted fish; so salty (lol)! Perfect combi :D

 

瓦煲番茄蛋 Tomato & Egg in Claypot ($12.80)

l love anything eggs. I love tomatoes as well.

BUT... I don't really like this dish.

The egg omelette is not as soft as I like. The tomatoes are very fresh though.

 

原粒面酱豆根薯仔煲 Bean Tendon & Potato in Claypot ($9.80)

Another super homely feel dish.

The gravy goes really well with rice. Both the bean tendon and potatoes were cooked to perfection; soft and yummilicious!

 

肉碎桂豆苗 Stir Fried String Bean with Minced Meat ($12.80)

Baby long beans are used - fresh and crunchy taste.

Slightly spicy. The minced meat enhances the overall taste of the dish.

 

肉丸豆腐煲 Braised Beancurd with Meat Ball in Claypot ($12.80)

Favorite dish-of-the-day! A must-order!

The meatballs are incredibly tasty, which absorbs the full flavor of the gravy!

The braised beancurd is amazingly silky smooth... melts in the mouth kind... *drool*

 

油浸脆草莞鱼 Deep Fried Grass Carp ($12.80)

I would have like this dish if there's more gravy. The fish taste fresh but rather bland without the gravy.

 

珍珠雷沙汤丸 Sesame Dumpling ($12.00)

Glutinous rice balls, served dry. No soup.

Peanut bits and sugar, sprinkled all over 'em. When light reflects on 'em, they look so "shimmery".

Soft & chewy texture. The sweetness is just right :D

 

The additional dishes!

The manager recommended this super yummy dish to us. Another favorite dish-of-the-day!

Stewed soft bone pork with carrots.

Everything can be eaten, including the soft bones! The meat is not as soft as I would like. Tasty nevertheless.

I actually prefer the carrots to meat! Super soft and taste oh-so-good (with the full flavor of gravy).

 

海外天叉烧 Oversea Special Char Siew ($30 for medium serving)

I can never forget the cameralized sweet savory taste, that is uniquely Oversea Restaurant.

It leaves me wanting for moreee! I should be able to finish one plate of this on my own (lol)!

For a table of 10, the total bill came up to be only $202.85 (exclusive of the additional dishes). Pretty reasonable I would say.

Thanks Elfaine (TSS) & 海外天 Oversea Restaurant for the wonderful homely lunch! ♥

It was my 1st time making ice cream from scratch! And, I gave my "1st time" to... Tom's Palette :D~ Thanks Elfaine (TSS) for the invite!

Do you know... Tom's Palette homemade ice cream parlour has been serving ice cream since September 2005? AND, they've been creating ONE NEW FLAVOR every month!

Shhh... Ice Cream Making Workshop in progress...

Btw, Tom's Palette is located at #01-25 Shaw Leisure Gallery if you don't already know :D

They've many flavors to choose from...

Some exotic ones like SALTED EGG YOLK (what!?!? I must say it taste really good, I like!), Salty Yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit, taste not bad!), Chocolate STOUT (They use ABC Stout... ahems... I'm not really a fan of stouts...), Lavender (I seriously HATE the taste! Feels like I'm eating "air purifier"... My face literally turned "purple" :/), Camomile (I HATE anything Camomile! Period.).

Anyway, I tasted ALL flavors. My favorites are:- Lychee n Rose, Salted Caramel Cheesecake, Salty Yuzu, Apple Pie, Granny's Favorite, Summer Berries and of coz SALTED EGG YOLK!

Their traditional homemade ice cream is made from scratch using ingredients like eggs, milk, cream & sugar.

There's a "live" demo, before we started making ours.

 

Horlicks flavor ice cream is what we were going to make. The only Horlicks ice cream I had prior the workshop was McDonald's... Well, totally different taste I would say.

Ingredients for one cup of ice cream:

• 1 x egg yolk
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• ½ cup of milk
• 3-4 tbsp of Horlicks
• ½ cup of cream

 

THE RECIPE

Using only the egg yolk, add 1 tbsp of sugar to it and mix well.

Add ½ cup of milk into pot.

Stir while heating up the milk.

Remember to use low heat, don't let it boil!

Then, add 3-4 generous tbsp of Horlicks into the heated milk.

***Thanks Tiphanie for helping me with the photo-taking (:***

Pour the Horlicks + milk mixture into the egg yolk + sugar mixture, while stirring simultaneously.

***Thanks Jacelyn for helping me to stir (:***

Continue to use low heat and stir. If not, you'll get scrambled eggs instead! :x

Cook all these ingredients until it becomes a thick and rich sauce.

Add ½ cup of cream and combine evenly.

Freeze and churn by hand!

Easy peasy?

 

Well, I did the last step wrongly (by cooking the cream as well =.=") and ended up with a really small cup of super-duper-sweet Horlicks ice cream.

Can you guess which is mine? =.="

*SOB SOB*

Anyway, do give the ice cream making a shot. If you don't like Horlicks, you can always try Milo??

For more info, do visit Tom's Palette website.

Yet another food tasting session @ Creation Cafe (Shaw Leisure Gallery). Thanks to The Sample Store, I was there for a pasta-fied experience.

Hmm.. A relatively small cafe.. Not very well-ventilated.. That doesn't matter to me IF the food is good.

Set lunch is priced affordably at $9.90 (main course + soup +drink). Additional charges for some eg. +$3.00 for seafood black squid ink pasta.

Yay to NO GST & SERVICE CHARGE!

I ordered coke :D

Soup-of-the-day, which is creamy mushroom soup. Tiny bits of mushroom. Not THAT creamy. The garlic bread tasted okay, which complemented the soup well. Both were served slightly warm. Hmm.. I like 'em hot actually.

 

We were then served with their best-selling pastas (top 5).

CARBONARA

Carbonara is my favorite of all ♥

The creaminess was just right for me; not too overwhelming. Some of 'em beg to differ though. Well, to each her own (: I would say they were pretty generous with the ham, sausage and mushroom bits. The spaghetti noodles were cooked to perfection; al dente texture.

 

SEAFOOD SPICY CRABMEAT (+$4.00)

Seafood lovers will definitely like this! For just additional $4.00, you get crab-claw, crab-leg, prawns, squid, salmon bits. The sauce tasted like that of chilli crab. The seafood were quite fresh (not super fresh kind). The noodles were not as firm as the carbonara's. Overall, I still enjoy it much.

 

SEAFOOD JAVA CURRY SAUCE (NEW +$1.00)

Hmm.. This is my least favorite. I did like the prawns, mussel, squid and salmon bits in this dish BUT.. I don't like the Java Curry Sauce (at all) coz it's too sweet and creamy for my liking. It's my personal preference. The others did enjoy this pretty much.

 

SEAFOOD LAKSA CREAM SAUCE (+1.00)

YES, it really tasted like laksa. I enjoyed it pretty much. The seafood ingredients are the same as the java curry one. Very creamy as well, but it was a lovely combi nonetheless. Delish!

 

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

My no.2 favorite. I'm the only one who like this dish (lol). And, I was telling 'em unpleasant-looking food often taste good. Apparently, this is the case for me (not 'em) :x

It had a strong celery taste which didn't bother me much. I took many mouthfuls while they only took like 1-2? The creaminess was alright. The rice had a unique texture to it, which I can't put into words.

Well, if you ain't a veggie lover, you can always order the seafood version for additional $2.00.

 

Creation Cafe

100 Beach Road, #01-43 Shaw Leisure Gallery

 

Elfaine gave each of us a bag of yummy cookies, courtesy of The Wooden Spoon (#01-24 Shaw Leisure Gallery). FYI, the cookies are hand-made by a granny (:

They ain't sweet and are really crispy. A very homey feel, I like ♥

A self-confessed food lover; I simply can't say 'no' to food. That well explains my chubby frame eh. And yes, not a beauty post. A picture-full post with serious food porn. Food orgasm session. Don't say I never warn you in advance ya.. hehehe!

And so, I went for my very 1st food-tasting session (for bloggers) at 海外天 Oversea Restaurant. A surprise invitation from The Sample Store! :D

海外天 Oversea Restaurant is a one-of-a-kind Cantonese themed restaurant which offers exquisite contemporary Chinese cuisine. Highly raved in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singaporeans travel there just to indulge in the exceptionally good food. Do you know that they actually opened a branch in Singapore? Talk about convenience! :D

Address:
No. 100 Beach Road, #01-27 to #01-37,
Shaw Leisure Gallery, Shaw Tower
Singapore 189702

Tel:
6294 2638

We were led to a very private and exclusive VIP room. A really nice nostalgia feel; reminiscence of the good old times when families get together for joyous occasions and such.

A heads up on what's coming up next.

If you are there for the 1st time and know not what to order, this will come in handy. A list of House Signature Dishes, which we tried almost all!

That's me, busy eating.

Savoring the good food. Nothing else matters.

A "customary practice" before food-tasting.

Bloggers just can't stop taking photos. Really.

Fruit juices to quench my thirst. I had green apple juice, followed by orange juice. ♥ both!

First up - 海外天叉烧 Oversea Special Char Siew, their specialty signature dish. A must to call in to place your order in advance as it is always sold out.

$50 for a large serving like this. For a family of 4, a medium serving ($30) will be just nice? Don't let the price deter you from ordering this dish. It is really worth every penny. Mark my words for that.

五花肉 tender fatty pork meat, is used for this dish. Traditionally roasted to perfection, the texture is crispy on the outside while the inside is oh-so-tender. It literally melts in my mouth, with a lingering caramelized sweet savory taste. Certainly different from the usual fare.

Nom nom nom.. I seriously couldn't get enough of these. Had a few good servings :x

Another favorite! 原盅佛锤延 Double Boiled Dried Seafood in Supreme Soup, also known as the lil' bro of 佛跳墙 Buddha Jumps Over The Wall. The mere sight of the thick soup already sent me the signal that it would be superbly tasty!

$29.80 for this soup of divine goodness. The best-est soup I ever had! The nutrients and flavor are being "locked" in the soup thru' double-boiling, which explains the rich taste it has without being overwhelming... Pure bliss!

A glimpse of the really generous portion of soup ingredients. The chicken meat was unbelivably tender! And, there's the sea cucumber, mushroom...

... abalone, dried scallop, etc.

Next, 京式火芳鸭 BBQ Peking Duck with Beancurd Skin Stuffing with Mushroom. A unique way of serving Peking Duck.

That's $8.80 per pc.

A mini Chinese-style "burger"?

Texture-full burger. The moment I sank my teeth on it, the "crackling" sound was distinctly heard.

Peking duck skin on top, fried beancurd skin with mushroom stuffing & duck meat in-between, 馒头 chinese steamed bun as the base. The complementing sweet sauce can be drizzled on the peking duck skin for a tantalizing taste.

清蒸笋壳鱼 Steamed Live Soon Hock Fish. Huge fish, which weighs a whopping 1.6kg!

$11.10/100g = $176 for this!

Wild Soon Hock Fish is used for this dish, and you can order a duo-taste one (fried & steamed). My favorite part of the fish? The cheeks definitely. Love the tender and springy texture! ♥

Very fresh, smooth and chewy with each bite. Oh, the savory sauce is great with rice.

o.o! What's this?

Well, I was game enough to try this fish intestine (but not the liver)! Thank goodness it tasted far nicer than I thought! No fishy smell/taste. The texture was soft and chewy, which goes pretty well with my taste buds. Two thumbs up!

招牌大明虾 Oversea Special Baked Tiger King Prawns. We were told that the prawns taste better if we used our hands to eat. So I did accordingly and indeed, it tasted heavenly!

$11.10/100g = $110!

The prawn is real big!

Has a firm and chewy texture. And, it was exceptionally sweet and fresh! *yum yum*

The 6th dish - 咸鱼花腩煲 Sauteed Pork Belly with Salted Fish.

$35 for a large serving. Yes, it's salty. Duh. A bowl of white rice/porridge is much needed.

Pork belly is ♥. The salted fish as well. See how thinly sliced the pork belly is. Ahh.. Delish!

菜香自制豆腐 Braised Home Made Beancurd with Petola. Interesting dish!

$3 per pc.

Petola, at its original state. Looks similar to bitter gourd, but taste nothing like it.

The cooked petola is soft and has a slightly sweet taste to it. Hmm... The texture is unique and it is hard to put into words.

Ooo... Succulent chunk of tofu which is meltingly soft on the inside. Simplicity at its very best!

鸳鸯嫩芥兰 Young Kai Lan in 2 ways. Yet another unique dish. Kai Lan leaves are fried to crisp perfection which taste/look just like seaweed, while the stems are stir fried the usual way.

$35 for a large serving.

Crispy leaves, crunchy stems, with an interesting touch of crispy fried silver fish. Ahh... 口感极佳! Ichiban neh~

天下炒饭 Oversea Special Fried Rice. What's so special about this fried rice when it looks ordinary much?

$25 for a large serving.

Take a closer look. See the fried crispy bits? Those are fried rice crisps, fried together with the normal cooked rice. An interesting textured dish indeed. No meat involved. There's yam bits and long beans though.

Dessert time! The finale? Well, not yet... 万寿果炖桃胶 Double Boiled Papaya with Almond Seeds with Plum Jelly. This is the bomb! Another top favorite!

Guess what? This costs only $5! Super duper affordable can.

Green papaya is used to prepare this dessert as ripe ones will become mushy when cooked. Woots! Nutritious stuff for the boobs (lol). Plum jelly is a cheaper alternative to consuming bird's nest and hashima, good for health and skin! This dessert has a caramelized sweet taste which I LOVEEE to bits! I wished I could have one like RIGHT NOW!

My Top 3 favorites:

♥ 万寿果炖桃胶 Double Boiled Papaya with Almond Seeds with Plum Jelly

♥ 原盅佛锤延 Double Boiled Dried Seafood in Supreme Soup

♥ 海外天叉烧 Oversea Special Char Siew

Moon cake festival is round the corner, so we got to try out some of their moon cakes. Yipee yeah!

Favoritest would be this. Me love egg yolk & the crispy biscuity layer. The lotus paste's sweetness is just right. Look different from the usual ones yea?

Chocolate/coffee flavored snow skin moon cake which tasted pretty good in my opinion.

Red dragonfruit flavored one which tasted fruity sweet, I like!

This sesame flavored one tasted better than I thought albeit a lil' too sweet.

Not a fan of pandan flavored ones. Period.

Each of us was given a beautiful box of special mini moon cakes, courtesy of 海外天 Oversea Restaurant. That's so nice of 'em!

Comes in 4 flavors.

Yummilicious treats!

With that, we come to an end of the 10-course (+1) food tasting session. Thanks 海外天 Oversea Restaurant & The Sample Store for this awesome possum food tasting session! :D

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