Tastes of Life
Road Map
All you need to know
Soothers of my heart
Directions in life
Inspirations for the journey
Email me!
lin_709@yahoo.com
From birth to death, from east to west, for each and every one of us, life is a journey. Whatever the colour of our eyes, whatever the shades of our skin, the common thread i believe lies in our search for meanings in our life. It is this search for meaning that keeps us hoping, keeps us moving, keeps us doing things that perhaps,in our eyes, reflect our purpose in this world.
Alrite, alrite, lets move on from the serious stuff to the lighter side of life... FOOD! the ever essential elixir of life. Some have it to stay alive, some have it to be alive! Whatever your cause, here's some sampling of whats good and whats not!
RANG MAHAL, Pan Pacific Hotel
7 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square S039595
Tel: 63331788


This posh North Indian Restaurant claims to dish up some of the best North Indian Cuisines in town. With ravishing reviews given by most restaurant guides, we decided to check it out to see if it matches up to the authentic North Indian cuisines that my Indian mom-in-law and relatives cook up in their humble kitchens....The Outcome? Well, for me, Rang Mahal seemed to be more glaze than substance. A North Indian food amatuer may be drawn in by the service and ambience to think that the food is equally spectacular. In truth, we found the food so watered down that its no where in quality to other North Indian favs such as Sitara. Hey, I think I can cook a better aloo ghobi dish than that! We ordered some naan, channa, aloo ghobi and panna. They lacked in spice and authenticity. When we raised this to the waiter, we were informed that it was watered down to accommodate to non-Indian tastebuds - I was thinking 'What a sellout!' Oh well, they have some saving graces though. Their Lychee fizz drink is the most unique I've seen. At $10 a glass, savour every drop of it! Their service is also wonderful, waiters are constantly at our beck and call to serve us and to find out how we found their food. They had crisp white napkins and table cloth and used these curious metal scrapers to wipe out tables clean after we finished the meals - a first I've seen! But of course, come to the restaurant with no less than  $150 to pay for your meals for the dishes are certainly not cheap.


STRAITS KITCHEN, Hyatt Regency Hotel
10 Scotts Road, S 228211
Tel : 67381234


I went there with a friend to try out this latest 'in-thing' in town. The place was very contemporary in design, dark wood contrasting against metallic silver panels. I like the use of thousands of cutlery (from dishes to bowls to jars of pickled lemons) as decor pieces to give it that 'kitchen' feel. Straits Kitchen is an open concept restaurant whereby food is cooked in the open and dished out to the buffet spread at the counter. It has 3 main kitchens whipping out Malay, Indian and Chinese food, with two other sectors providing local desserts and snacks and drinks. The fare ranged from nasi padang, to chicken rice , mee stuff to indian tandoor. I couldn't quite figure out how to eat a buffet from such a spread as usually such dishes are singly very filling. Indeed, my friend opted for a Chinese fried rice dish with some side dishes and found herself already full thereafter. I chose to taste the Indian tandoor and naan spread and some of the Malay dishes. We also tried the wet popiah and  rojak. In between, we drowned ourselves with glasses of 'fruit juice' which tasted more like the fruit 'squash' sorts than real juice. Personally I think the wet popiah and rojak at Banquet food courts (esp Raffles Hospital) taste so much better than those offered by Straits Kitchen. The tandoor was average - I've tasted better elsewhere. Whilst the gravies were quite good, the naan was somewhat dry and the meat was not so tender. The satay was not bad and the sauce was quite thick. Other Malay dishes seemed somewhat too salty in taste. The Chinese food looked so bland that i gave it a miss entirely. Eating mee soto, mee rebus and laksa weren't exactly enticing either. Of the desserts, I tried an ice kacang as i couldnt quite stomach anymore solids, though their bubur and sweet dessert kuihs looked quite good. Nevertheless, for those of you braving the dessert menu, you can give ice kacang a miss - utterly bland and tasteless if you must know. At the end of the day, if I could sum up my experience here, only one word comes to mind - costly.


CORIANDER LEAF, Clarke Quay
3A Merchant Court, #02-12, River Valley Road, Clarke Quay S179020
Tel : 67323354


Owned and prepared by a pakistani lady chef (who unfortunately serves wine), this restaurant, I must say is quite a gem. Its tastefully designed that gives a sense of warmth and comfort. Whilst providing fine dining, it at the same time gives us a sense of ease and cosiness. In other words, its fine dining  without the pretentiousness that some other restaurants possess. The menu is simple providing the basic red meat, chicken and fish alternatives. Yet the mode of cooking is ecclectic - fusion in a sense. I tried their naan bread which was oh...SCRUMPTIOUS...best ive tasted in Singapore. And their tandoor chicken is wow - the meat is infused with the tandoor spice and its so tender! We also had this dessert - ohhhhhhhhhh. HEAAAAAVEEEEN... its called a 'warm *something* chocolate cake' with ice cream. Here's the deal: They bake the cake when u order it - takes about 10 minutes. Its just a small round little cake, perhaps 3/4 of the size of ur palm.Its crusty on the outside and ohh superbly soft brownie-ish on the inside. And, get this: when you cut through it, this dark rich melted chocolate oooozzzesss out of the cake...ahhhh. Its the most sensuous cake I've had ever.... to top it they give this vanila ice cream  (seems homemade) and some strawberries to go along!  Its the best aphrodisiac ever ;-p

in SINGAPORE
Sometimes there hardly seem to be good places to eat. Look hard enough, though, you will find.....
Fish & Chips
Prata
Check these fav outlets out!
Guide to Halal Eating Establishments in Singapore
Malaysia
Tools for the journey
AL-MAJLIS, Arab Street
Cafe le Caire, 39 Arab Street S199736
Tel : 2920979


Somewhat dead in the day, boy this place sure comes alive at night! From 'mat kentals' to trendy yuppie jet setters, this place has it all. Why? hmmm...I'm really not sure..Its a joint that literally looks like a standard unmaintained coffee shop except that it has arab music blasting thru its speakers and drabs of worn out, dirt infused carpets on the floor to give it that egyptian flair. Tables are scattered in front of shop houses. For larger groups, they've got these large carpets which they'd spread out along the roadside for you to sit on. Why do people come here? Well, i dont know about them. For me, its really the good food that Al-Majlis whips up that keeps me coming back. I personally love the mandi, available on weekends - its a rack of lamb with superb beryani rice - and their roasted chicken - crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and so absolutely infused with fine spices that KFC could only dream of copying! Then there's the mint tea with real mint leaves that you could simply chew on after downing all that meaty stuff! My hubby likes the mixed grill which comes with beef, lamb chop, chicken leg and excellant pilau rice. Then there's the turkish coffee which packs a punch for him - the best turkish coffee in town. Some people come here for the aromatic sheeshas which personally Ive not tried nor want to... Others come to see and be seen. Some others just find it nice to hang out along the quiet Arab Street in the dead of the night. Or perhaps its just the good cuisine food at ok prices that simply sells.

POPEYES, Changi Airport T1
- Much better than KFC anyday and anytime! Dont be marred by the slow service at this food joint, for the chicken meal is really terrific. Filled with New Orleans style spices, grab the chicken fillets which are simply pure chicken,  yep none of the processed stuff - they're tender, white and spiced. The whip potato also has a wonderful sauce that's different from the KFC standard fare. Price is somewhat steep though, and be prepared to feel thirsty some time after...hmmm...perhaps all that msg....
MAK'S PLACE, Opp Wisma Indah
Changi Road

A favourite joint of ours. I love their barley drink which has that homemade taste. They carry surprisingly good teh tariks as well. I personally also love the seafood fried rice which comes with generous portions of seafood at reasonable prices. Their sweet and sour fish slices come with thicker cuts of fish unlike the Restu flour-filled versions. Of course their western fare of chicken chops, fish and chips and steak are generally ok too. Overall, this place carries good local fare, cooked on the spot at relatively hawker fare prices. And the portions are not cuthroat!
TANJONG PAGAR RAILWAY STATION, Keppel Road - This place is simply a gem. The railway station itself has a certain old rustic charm of past colonial times. Coupled with the street side vendors and food stalls reminscent of Chow Kit Malaysia, this food place brings you back a step in time  to the old, relaxed ambiance of a nice laid back Malaysian streetside eatery. I LOVE IT! The food here equally lives up to the standards of the place. Try the Kebab - it comes with delicious huge breads and loads of chicken fillings inside. The teh tarik is delicious too, thick, milky without being overwhelmingly sweet. My husband and I also liked this ikan-bilis flour thing that is eaten with sambal chuka....and its soooo cheap!! at 3 large pieces for only a dollar!