Babi Guling Ibu Oka (Ubud, Bali)

Good morning (: 

I finally slept in today and am feeling a lot less cranky, which is good because school is starting tomorrow! Oh well. The past week has been quite a busy week but I don't feel like it has been much somehow.. maybe it's the constant movement, the flitting about to do this and that, and to meet he and she and they.. and all this movement just gets to me because I feel like I'm doing a million and one things yet nothing substantial at all. I guess I have today to be by myself and just take things slow before the madness kicks in tomorrow. 

Since I'm still reminiscing the good and golden days in Bali, I have decided to post the photos taken at a "must go" place in Ubud - Ibu Oka. This eatery serves awesome roasted pig, according to my trusty travel companion! haha Coincidentally, we bumped into friends unexpectedly outside Ibu Oka and they concurred that the roasted pig was nothing short of fantastic! 

So here are a few photos to share our experience: 

Their original eatery was under renovation so they relocated to this place that looks like a temple.

The tables are low (knee-height) and we had to sit on the mat to eat. There were many flies and it was quite warm but I liked the experience (: Felt like it was something Balinese that I should try.

Simple and plain menu. The entire menu is filled with variations of roasted pork dishes so there's plenty to choose from! (: Ibu Oka a place for meat lovers so if you, like me, do not eat meat then it's probably advisable for you to get something before/ after visiting this place. 

The view of this eatery from where I was sitting at. There were many caged birds and many other diners who were just chilling and taking their time to chat and eat. 

The two big coconuts containing coconut juice that wasn't sweet =S I think I prefer young coconuts cos they have nice and soft white flesh whereas these are completely bare! The young coconuts also tend to contain sweeter coconut juice.

And this was what we came here for! I know it doesn't look like much really because it's all a heap but it made my companion really happy to have this cheap & affordable dish! (: I think it costs about SGD$4? Sorry I can't remember the exact price but I know it was comparable to food court prices. Extremely worth it! (:


Alright so that's all for now (: I hope to continue updating this space even after term starts! Term 3 is going to be nutty for me so I will do all I can to take things in my stride and stay sane (: Happy Sunday! (:

Sardine

Hello!

I've been cooped up indoors since I came back at the start of the week due to the hazy weather. The last time I experienced such weather was when I was in P5 - and I can still remember my PE lessons being cancelled and my right eye getting infected =( I have very sensitive eyes and they get irritated easily so what happened when I was P5 was that my eyes got itchy and swollen to the point there was yellow sticky pus-like things coming out from it =( It was horrible. So to prevent my eyes from becoming irritated, I will be good and stay indoors though I really miss being mobile and being outdoors.

Anyhow, I shall cheer up by posting photos of THE BEST meal I had in Bali, where I went for a holiday last week (: Before I went to Bali, I did research on where to go and what to eat, and there was one particular review which said that Sardine is a "MUST GO", especially for their very affordable lunch sets. There were many other reviews that sang in the same tune as this very first one so of course I knew I had to give it a go.

We visited Sardine on a weekend afternoon for lunch, which might explain why their set lunch was not on offer but it was okay - set lunch or not, I just wanted to visit this much raved-about place.

A cute little NYDC-looking dog greeted us at the front of the restaurant! This poor dog was leashed to the tree and had to seek shelter in the shade! The temperature that day was 34deg, much like what Sg was before it became all hazy. I really pity this docile and sweet-looking dog! :(

Their lovely setting. I think the colours go very well. The overall vibe is relaxed and chill, not at all chi chi and pretentious (well at least I didn't feel it). Just what we needed on a weekend afternoon (: 

A paddy field faces the restaurant so you get to enjoy greenery while dining (: There were some tourists who walked all the way to take photo under this hut but it was way too hot for me to walk in the sun so I used my camera and zoomed in to take this shot =P

Our first glasses of drinks. I realised that it's a terrible idea to order ice-blended in the sweltering heat because the ice melts way too quickly and it becomes this yucky liquid that's not nice to drink at all! =( Being a slow drinker, I suffered the fate of having to drink some of this yucky liquid till I could take it no more and ordered - you guessed it - sprite! (: Sprite never fails me!

For starters, we had scallops and these were done to PERFECTION! Oh man they were just SO good! (: The scallops were fresh, the diced tomatoes and other sauces went very well together and you feel such joy eating it. Almost every table ordered this dish and it is plain to see why. This definitely is a must-try dish!
 

If I'm not wrong, this is their Mediterranean salad, which was also very fresh-tasting. I like how they didn't douse the veggies with too much vinaigrette sauce and that the entire dish wasn't too sour (: It was lovely.

Our seafood and asparagus risotto was probably the only dish which we felt that we could have given a miss because it wasn't spectacular. It was simple, clean-tasting and decent but it wasn't something to rave about. I regretted ordering this only because it took up all my stomach space for desserts and I didn't get to try any of their yummy desserts! =S

The highlight of our meal was definitely this HUGE lobster! haha I have not had such a huge lobster placed in front of me before and when it came, I was SO thankful that we were sharing it else I'd definitely feel overwhelmed! haha I didn't expect it to be this big! Given its size, I had expected the meat to be quite tough but surprisingly, it was quite tender and it was nothing short of what I expect a good lobster to taste like! (:

They even served us brown rice to go with the lobster (all the more we shouldn't have ordered risotto! pffft). We truly appreciated and enjoyed this dish (:

If I were to go back to Sardine again, I'd definitely give the risotto a miss so that I can order a dessert! Their dessert menu looks fabulous and it is a pity that I didn't get to try any. Oh well, at least I'd a fantastic meal at Sardine! (: (: (:

If you are in Seminyak, Bali, you really should head to this place for a meal. Hopefully you'll enjoy the experience and the food as much as we did (:

Alright that's all! Happy weekend everyone (:

Spruce @Fire Station

Hello! (:

Just before we left for Bali, we went to Spruce @Fire Station for a lovely weekend brunch. I had never been to this Spruce outlet before and I had thought that the outlet at Fire Station would be very much like the one at Tanglin - crowded, chatter-filled, bustling with activity - so you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find out that Spruce @Fire Station wasn't very packed (the restaurant was about 5/8 filled) and it wasn't noisy. Phew! (: Guess the high ceilings also helped to give the place a more 'airy' and spacious feel, which much appreciated by someone who's quite claustrophobic like me.

He couldn't resist ordering a macchiato ($4), which came in a tiny cup and with a lion 'drawn' on it! Every time a macchiato appears on the table, I can't help but wonder why anyone would make such a tiny cup of coffee and a split second later, wonder why anyone would even order such a tiny cup of coffee. Alas, I guess it's all about enjoying the taste so if you like it, who really cares about its size and quantity! (: Just order another drink to complement this! (:

Thankfully, I take forever to finish a cup of drink and more often than not, I have trouble finishing a cup of drink on my own (except for SPRITE! ;) but I am getting better at finishing my drink), so people who dine with me can help themselves to my drink (if they aren't saliva conscious of course). That day, I decided to be adventurous and try their popular iced lychee tea ($7) and it tasted really good! (: I usually don't order iced tea but this has made me want to try other recommended iced teas in future (:

I like going to Spruce because I love its large breakfast/ brunch selection (: Their food quality is nothing short of good and I daresay that Spruce is quite a good place to go if you are in the mood for breakfast/ brunch food! I had the Garden Brekkie ($18) that day and the portion was just nice as it didn't fill me up too much and I could save space for dessert! (:

He chose to have the British Brekkie ($19) and it was also good (: I especially love how thick their toasts are! The toast goes well with the eggs (:

Since we were feeling unusually greedy that day, we decided to have two desserts, one of which is the baked ginger date pudding with vanilla ice-cream ($15). I didn't really like this one that much because the pudding wasn't warm! I had thought that it would be warm so that the ice-cream would be a perfect complement. But on the whole it was well made and it's passable.

Their apple pie with vanilla ice-cream ($15) fared better and I think if you only had one choice for dessert, you should opt for this (: They were very generous with the apple slices and you can literally taste chunks of apple slices when you eat this dessert. Would definitely order this again if I have the chance! (:

Alright that's all for now (: Take good care of yourselves and stay indoors, away from the haze! (:

SPRUCE AT FIRE STATION, UPPER BUKIT TIMAH
260 Upper Bukit Timah Road, #01-01, Singapore 588213
T: 6466 5582
Mon – Fri: 11.30am – 12am
Sat, Sun & PH: 9am – 12am
Bar open till late

Revisiting The Line

Hello everyone! (: 

I am in Bali right now to take a break from life and so far things have been good on the whole.. (: We met with a couple of rather unpleasant situations but nothing too treacherous to ruin our holiday so all is well (: We hope to enjoy our weekend here in Bali before going back to Reality. 

Anyhow, I'm going to post photos from our recent (re)visit to The Line and I must say that the most recent visit changed my impression (for the better) about the restaurant which I used to think as 'a super high-class version of Food Republic" =X

I suspect the previous visits weren't that great because somehow The Line was always very crowded and noisy.. and though the restaurant was still bustling with life this time round, the noise level was surprisingly bearable and that really helped in helping me enjoy my dining experience more (: 

I think their lunch buffet is probably one of the best you can find around in terms of price, range and quality of food and ambience and I think it's a great place to meet up with friends because there should be something for everyone! If there were still Saturday family outings, I would gladly suggest The Line (but since Jeff is being such a loyal Sushi Tei patron, this is out of the question). 

Alright here are some photos taken that very wonderful afternoon: 

There is definitely more food on offer than all these but these are some of what we managed to try and stomach (: I think I'll gladly go back again now that I am more convinced that it is possible to have a relatively pleasant dining experience at The Line (:

Have a good Father's Day weekend! Goodnight! (:

P.S. Happy Father's Day, LPP! (: 

Melt

Hello! (:

I'm feeling bushed from doing nothing but walk around Marina Bay Sands area & Gardens by the Bay today for Staff Retreat so I decided to go easy on myself and do a 'lazy' post.

We went back to Melt a weekend or so ago and we were pretty surprised to find that it was relatively EMPTY. It was actually quiet enough for us to have some privacy and to talk properly without straining our ears.

Naturally, the first few questions that came to my mind were: What had happened to the overcrowded/ noisy Melt that I ate at a year or two ago? Has the food standard dropped THAT much? Where are all the people? Is there some event that I don't know about?

Instead of speculating, I decided to let the food speak for itself! (: We didn't have any problems orientating ourselves since we had been to Melt before so we knew where to go to get the kinds of food that we like to eat. The spread remains wholly the same so there isn't much change wrt food selection.

The service was pretty good and the waiter that attended to us (his name is called Emmanuel) was extremely friendly! He also recommended their signature dish, the laksa, which I personally felt wasn't fantastic as the laksa 'soup' was quite diluted and didn't have enough kick, but that is beside the point. He was just so earnest about it that I couldn't bear to not take up his recommendation!

Alright, here are some photos of the food we had that day:

On the whole, the quality of food is comparable to the past though some dishes - mainly the raw ones like sashimi and prawns - weren't that fresh so we didn't take too much of those just to be safe. Their Indian Food Section still rocks and so does their dessert section (: It is worth going if you fancy giving yourself a treat (: Unfortunately, I can't remember how much this costs but you can always call them up to check it out before going (:

Alright that is all for now (: Have a great Friday and an even better weekend! (: