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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® 's Christmas selection


 This festive season is all about giving, and what better way to kick start your Christmas by giving back to charity? As part of  The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s Charity Campaign, customers who purchase Deck the Tree Cards* at $3 each and The Coffee Bean Card** (Holiday Design) at $28 each will be supporting the Singapore Children's Society.

*Full proceeds will be contributed to Singapore Children’s Society.

**$2 will be contributed to Singapore Children’s Society for every card sold.

And as this joyous period is around the corner, take advantage of these seasonal Christmas items!

  • The drinks


Double Chocolate Peppermint Ice Blended

Decadent dark chocolate with a cool peppermint yumminess. Mmm that bitter but cool mix will make you feel like it's snowing outside (just pretend the rain is snow ok?)

SML S$6.80 REG S$7.80 LRG S$8.30

Toffee Nut Ice Blended

Buttery flavor of caramelized sugar and a hint of nut combined with coffee for a sweet treat. I'm sure many of you would've heard about how awesome this drink is, that many people look forward to Christmas just for this drink!

SML S$6.80 REG S$7.80 LRG S$8.30


Red Velvet Hot Cocoa
Sip the sweet, creamy and chocolate flavors of a red velvet cupcake.

I'm a huge fan of Red Velvet cupcakes, but I'm not entirely sure how a hot cocoa red velvet would turn out. Mystifying isn't it? That's why you've got to try one to find out.

SML S$6.00 REG S$6.50 LRG S$7.00

Peppermint Stick Tea Latte
Sweet, creamy peppermint and vanilla flavor combined with black tea and steamed milk.

For days when it's cold outside and you just want to sit down and enjoy the companionship of a loved one.

SML S$5.80 REG S$6.30 LRG S$6.80

  • The cakes



I've just got to rave about my favourite cake from The Coffee Bean, the Mixed Nut Toblerone Cheesecake is just simply divine! Irresistible mixed nut cheesecake embedded with Toblerone triangles and at 1.8kg, it's perfect for that holiday cheer with friends and family. Also, how adorable is that little home in the middle of Toblerone forest?? 

  • Treats!

Of course, there are many more treats available at The Coffee Bean, designed to conjure up childhood Christmas memories treats like the Christmas Stollen, Festive Gingerbread Man, Santa’s Gingerbread House, and Roast Turkey. These are adorable and will make for a flavourful and visually appealing feast!


Orders for whole cakes and pastry packs can be made online via the The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®
website (http://www.coffeebean.com.sg). Better to order early before that Christmas party!

The Christmas offer at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf outlets and Beanstro begins on 4 November and lasts until 29 December 2013.

5 things to eat in London

By some twist of fate and tons of lucky stars, I landed up in London for the third time in two years. It was a really last minute trip with my brother and the only things I had planned were my flight tickets and my hotel in Bayswater! Packing was done a few hours before I left for the airport, and my brother and I agreed to do everything on an impromptu basis.

Unfortunately, like many unforeseen circumstances, my brother started feeling sneazy an hour before our flight out. I forced him to pop 2 paracetamols with flu relief properties, and we went off to the airport.

Alas, it was 5am when our plane landed at Heathrow Airport. I barely slept on the 13h plane ride with my brother sniffing away, a ton of people coughing constantly, and some kid kicking the back of my seat. From the airport, you can choose pick an express train which would take you to Paddington (central London) in half the time it would take if you were to take the normal tube, at a much higher price.

Finally here!

Being cheapos who had a lot of time to kill (check in at our hotel was 12noon), we took the normal train. 

It was an eye opening experience because we got to see the less-glamourous side of London. I was so cold every time the train doors opened. The seats of the train were dirty, there was graffiti on the walls, people were speaking in English but I couldn't really catch what they were saying. In essence, the culture shock hit me pretty quickly. It was a one and a half hour journey to central London, and some of the commuters were on their way to work! 

Since our check-in timing was hours later, our initial plan was to leave our luggage at the front desk and hang out at my friend's place at Chancery Lane, which was nearby. However, thanks to our lucky stars, our room was ready and we got to check in at 9am! We napped til 11am and got up just for breakfast.

That was how my trip started, and I knew I just had to make the trip about food this time. So here's my recommended list of things to eat on your next trip to London :p

- Have scones for breakfast/tea
It's a breezy English day, you've just taken a nice walk in Hyde Park and you've worked up a breakfast appetite. Why not have a scone?

A friend brought me to this amazing, down to earth, unpretentious, cosy  bakery cum cafe called Muffin Man Tea Shop.
Surprisingly affordable!


Muffin Man Tea Shop
12 Wrights Lane
London W8 6TA
Neighbourhood: Kensington
Tel: 020 7937 6652

- Homemade Fudge
Fudge originated from America, when a teacher of a toffee-making class used the wrong temperature and instead of getting toffee, he made fudge. That also explains why the word 'fudge' means an error or mistake. Eg, I fudged it up!

Though that's not so commonly phrased here in Singapore, haha.

Anyway, my cousin, Nicholas was the one who told me to try some homemade fudge, and since I was in Oxford that day, I popped by Fudge Kitchen.

Free sample? Check. Amazing smells? Check. Cute guy by the door? Check.
K going in.

Was distracted by the huge slab of fudge right in front of me, which I later found out, was laid there to cool down. Fudge Kitchen's fudge is made using whipping cream instead of butter, giving a creamy soft texture and distinctive flavour! Plus there are a few flavours to choose from if you don't like it plain ol' original. There's Tangy Orange, Dreamy Coconut, Moreish Mint, Gorgeous Ginger, Classic Chocolate, Mocha chocolate and more!!

Gahh look at that huge slab O_O

 A while later, the fudge maker came and started mixing the fudge!! 

Turn the volume up to find out a little more on how fudge is made! 
PSST! Notice how the fudge gets easier to flip and sinks downwards, that's how it tastes so smooth and the sugar is evenly spread out.

The branch I went to was:

Fudge Kitchen
Address: 5 Broad Street
Oxford, OX1 3AJ
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 794154
For more outlets, visit their website at http://www.fudgekitchen.co.uk/
However! Since this post is about London, here's a place in London you can check out for fresh, homemade fudge!

The London Fudge Company
Jubilee craft market at Covent Garden on Saturdays and Sundays

If you haven't tried fudge you're missing out on sweet, sugary goodness.

-  Eat duck rice
I know what you're thinking.

"I travelled half the world for DUCK RICE? I can eat this back home in Singapore!"

Yes you can, but it's not the same. Their duck is from Ireland.

Not only is it fatter, juicier, tender-rer, Four Seasons and Gold Mine have their magic gravy and together, you get a dish that will give you cravings even when you're back in Singapore.



Try both and tell me which one you prefer! :p

How to get there: Turn left at Bayswater, walk straight and you'll see the two restaurants on your right! They are really near each other, just make sure you don't walk into the wrong one ;)

- Grab a bagel

Along Brick Lane there is this infamous bagel shop that sells bagels for around 1 pound each that has been established since 1977. That's ridiculously cheap considering how yummy the bagels are!!


The classic smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel blew my MIND. It's served hot, looks simple,but darn a lot of passion went into every bit of it.


Get a bagel and continue strolling down Brick Lane. Now you feel that bit of London spirit, don't you?

Beigel Bake
159 Brick Lane
London
E1 6SB
- Have a lobster 
Even though Singapore is blessed with a large variety of food, let's face it, we could do with cheaper seafood. And after travelling all the way to London, seafood is what I'll get at an amazing price and I get to pamper my taste buds at the same time too!
 

At only £20 (about SGD$40), you can get an entire lobster all to yourself, with a generous helping of fries that I couldn't even finish! Even though I reached at 6+pm, I still had to wait about 20mins for a table, okay maybe it's because my full party wasn't present yet when I reached, but still!

The lobster was super fresh and sooo tasty, I don't think you can find an equivalent in Singapore. I dined at the Soho branch because we wanted to check out the night scene in the area after dinner. It's really eye opening!! However, if you're going with your family and you prefer a safer environment, head to the Mayfair Branch. After all, if it's that expensive in Monopoly, it has to be that expensive in real life as well too right?

Mayfair Branch (no reservations)

Soho Branch (plenty of things to do after!)


PS: Thought of adding Hummingbird Bakery's red velvet cupcakes here or Snog's yoghurt, or even Gordan Ramsey's restaurants but nahhh those are too common. Feel free to check them out too!

Typing this has made me so hungry. Have to plan a trip to London again soon!!! I miss Europe so much :(

Til the next time~

Hinoki Restaurant at China Square Central Review

If you’ve been to Japan and dined at a japanese restaurant there, you’ll find that many places in Singapore do not match up to that expectation once you’re back. As such, I have been on a hunt around Singapore to find affordable japanese food (pardon the occasional indulgences) to curb my cravings and pamper my taste buds.


So when the invite came for my family and I to check out Hinoki Japanese Dining’s seven course mini kaiseki (traditional, multi-coursed dinner), both excitement and trepidation were within reason – Its main chef Santaro Li had the pedigree, having served his time well in prestigious restaurants like Kanetanaka in Ginza or training under “Iron Chef” Michiba Rokusaburo. But could Japanese really be done by, well, a non-japanese?



Hinoki is conveniently located at China Square Central amist a beautiful shophouse cluster design to cater to the office crowd  and had a posh, private exterior. The interior had an 18 seater sushi counter, a separate private room and other seats for casual dining. We decided to sit at the sushi counter to observe the chefs at work, and spotted a cute sushi clock on the wall, the use of a microwave to dry seaweed wrappings, as well as chefs speaking to each other in dialect.



We were not presented with a menu, but were told that there are 3 different mini kaiseki sets to choose from. Priced at $85, (with a full omakase kaiseki set also available at $138 or $168) and with my family of four, we opted to have two of the Wagyu beef sets and one each of the Gindara and Tempura sets.

The full omakase set has mentaiko oysters!! I want!!

Appetizer

The seven course meal started off with a simple appetiser of dried scallops and cold tofu with eggs. Drying certain types of foods – such as the scallops – intensifies the flavour, and the small dollop of yuzu (citrus) soy sauce on top helped to give the mochi mochi (chewy) scallops that extra kick when munching on them to release the flavour.



The tofu was barely discernable under a mountain of roe and scallions; and topped off with a dash of century egg yolk – part of chef Li’s fusion fare. Our father dislikes tofu, but even he scarfed up this combination that made for a rich and buttery smooth combination.

Sashimi

Almost as quickly as the one-bite starters were done came everyone’s favourite sashimi. A collection of the basics – salmon belly, maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellow tail), swordfish and tako (octopus). They were fresh and juicy, and upon inquiry, Chef Li noted that their stock comes straight from Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan. My favourites were the slightly sweet salmon belly that melted in my mouth along with the hamachi that was full of flavour from its freshness. This was gulped down pretty quickly, but I felt that the wasabi had lost some of its zest, perhaps it was left uncovered or not grated freshly and I wished there was a little bit of ginger to help cleanse the palate between bites.

Chef Li was a delight to talk to in person, with a warm personality and an easy grin. It was interesting to watch him work (he served a few others while we were there), serving dishes in traditional Japanese senses and styles, presenting sashimi platters that were elegant to look at while also maintaining amazing freshness and flavour.

Soup for the Soul




It was only a little later, on perusing their menu that we realized that they had swapped dish two and three around – our third dish was a hearty soup. Looking rather oily, but tasting clear and smooth with brown beech mushroom (buna shimeji) and scallions that just warmed up the insides alongside the soft swordfish belly meat. While swordfish is usually a little bit more crunchy with its meat, swordfish belly is quite fatty, creating a more tender but distinctive taste without becoming too oily.

Tempura vs Wagyu vs Gindara (Cod Fish)

From here on out, most of our dishes differed. My brother’s fourth dish was a tempura set that came with ebi (prawns), shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes and other assorted tempura staples. Though it was not too oily and tasted well with the dashi, the prawn itself was not chewy or tasty, which was a little disappointing.






Our mother had the mentaiko Gindara fish which was steamed to perfection, skin was tasty without any ‘fishy’ taste and the sweetness of mentaiko was simply divine. Undenyably one of the best dishes of our meal, and our mum had to fight the rest of the family off from taking more than a single bite out of it. I’ve got a soft spot for mentaiko as it just adds so much depth and flavour to dishes, whether in its plain or spicy variations.

My father and I had the wagyu beef, which turned out to be the most disappointing of the entire meal. It tasted like regular stir-fried Chinese-style beef, the sort anyone finds at their local zhi char store or restaurant, and the wagyu was cooked to well-done. While tastes differ on how cooked they want their meat to be, wagyu when well-done loses half the point as the fat sizzles off during the cooking process. It was moist and chewy with a little fat going well with the stir-fried vegetables, but it simply did not excite us as much as the mentaiko did.

Unagi and Tempura


Delicious eel with pickles

My brother had a small serving of unagi (freshwater eel) with vinegered seaweed and pickled cucumbers, which he mixed together to eat. This created a fascinating new blend of tastes that was at one moment sour from the vinegered vegetables and in another sweet and juicy from the eel. The vinegared seaweed was light, not overpowering but complementing the freshly broiled eel, and the cucumber gave an added crunch to the dish. It was unexpectedly one of his favourite dishes.


Dish five for my parents and I was tempura, albeit only vegetables. 


Legendary Chirashizushi and Unagi


Our sixth – and final before dessert – dish was hot fresh unagi with miso soup while my brother had a luxurious chirashizushi bowl all to himself :( 

The unagi was the traditional sort, well-broiled and dripping with sauce over a bit of rice.


But it paled in comparison to the chirashizushi bowl, which was like having another round of mouth watering sashimi all over again. I was so envious I wished I had picked the tempura set for myself! The bowl had more of everyone’s favorites, including ama-ebi (sweet prawn), crab meat, roe and regulars such as salmon and maguro all with the expected freshness. This was all on top of a layer of rice flavoured with furikake (flavoured condiment). Hinoki should name this kaiseki set as the Sashimi set instead of Tempura because the servings for sashimi was much more generous!

Washed down with some miso soup that was thick and fragrant :)

Dessert – sweet and refreshing               

Dessert was a scoop of home made yuzu that was refreshing and a good end to the meal. It had bits of oranges that was chewy and a little sour to perk you up.


All in all, our favourites were the Tempura and Gindara sets! The tempura set had a generous portion of sashimi and delicious unagi pickled mixture which was a welcome change. The Gindara set had an awesome cod fish mentaiko which we had to resist our urge to lick the plate clean.  Please, please get them when you’re at Hinoki, make a reservation before you head down to get sushi counter seats which, in my opinion, were the best seats. Service wise, the waitresses would refill our green teas on request and clear our dishes promptly – maybe at times a little too prompt, but I would prefer if they were friendlier or more cheerful. The ambiance also felt a little off, with the radio playing latest English music hits and table arrangements looking more utilitarian rather than fitting in with the style.

Hinoki isn’t the type of place to bring for a romantic date, but a casual gathering with colleagues over lunch or dinner. The sushi and sashimi selection were really fresh and well-presented, be sure to drop by especially if you’re working around the area. Remember to try their mentaiko cod fish or chirashizushi bowl!

Thanks Epicurean Concepts and Jolene for the wonderful meal!

Hinoki

Mondays to Saturdays
11:30 am to 2:30 pm, and
6:00 pm to 10:30pm.

Closed on Sundays.
For reservations: +65 6536 7746


22 Cross Street,
#01-50/53,
China Square Central,
(South Bridge Court)
Singapore 048421

Redeem Joy Points for Joy Rewards with Cadbury!


One of my favourite chocolates to snack on since my childhood days has got to be Cadbury Dairy Milk. That milky, cocoa powder goodness that will perk my dull days, keep my stomach obedient while I'm studying, and the happiness I get when I share them with friends! From July to August 2013, Cadbury has launched a Rewards campaign just to give back to their fans! They're showing all the Cadbury love with a range of rewards that you can redeem just by purchasing Cadbury chocolate products. So exciting!

The Rewards
You can pick two categories of rewards to redeem: (I'm already working towards some)

A. Limited-edition Cadbury collectibles like luggage tags, tote bags, umbrellas, 4GB thumb drives or a life-size huggable cushion. Note that all these collectibles are not for sale in stores!

or you can pick from their range of

B. Lifestyle rewards


To redeem Shaw movie passes, Night Safari admission tickets, Legoland admission tickets, Capitaland Vouchers, Starbucks Cards and even, a staycation at Wanderlust Boutique Hotel!

All these items can be redeemed using Joy Points! Every $1 spent from participating outlets earns you 10 Joy Points which brings you one step closer to redeeming the Joy Rewards above!

Thanks Cadbury for making me feel less guilty when I have their chocolates because not only do I get to enjoy the chocolate-y goodness, but I also get freebies too! Plus, to make it even more convenient for the fans, Cadbury goes the extra mile by delivering the joy rewards to your mailbox and doorstep!

Just imagine yourself sitting on a sofa eating Cadbury chocolates when the doorbell rings bearing your Joy Reward gifts!! Spoilt maximum :)

How to redeem?

Step 1: Go to Cadbury Rewards and create an account!


 
I signed up using Facebook so that I can skip steps. After this, you'll be directed to read the Terms and Conditions then click accept!

 
Ta-dah!! You're in!

 PSST!! If you pick 'Sign up using Facebook' and already liked the Cadbury Dairy Milk Singapore’s Facebook page beforehand, you'll instantly get 50 points!! Which instantly qualifies you to redeem a Cadbury Collectible Luggage tag!

Step 2: Upload your receipt indicating the purchase of Cadbury chocolates to convert them to Joy points!
 
 Please take note that receipts MUST be from either Fairprice, Cold Storage, Giant, Sheng Siong, Watsons, Guardian, 7-11 or Cheers or they will not qualify!! If you're not sure where the receipt number on your receipt is, click 'View Sample' in blue, on the website.

Step 3: Redeem your favourite Joy Rewards! 
 

In summary, 


Only three simple steps to follow, plus, the website is super user friendly and easy to use!

Bonus points!!
PSST!! If you “Like” Cadbury Dairy Milk Singapore’s Facebook page AND follow Cadbury Dairy Milk on Twitter and Instagram: @CadburySG (don't worry they post awesome pictures), you get 100 bonus points!!That gives you the chance to redeem an instant tote bag!

PLUS, the wonderful folks of Cadbury are also giving a bonus 500 Joy Points for 5 lucky winners who leave a comment about their favourite Cadbury reward. That's like $50 worth of Joy Points for free and also translates to one pair of Singapore Flyer tickets if you choose to redeem it!

Don't forget that Joy Points are used to redeem lifestyle rewards so every point counts.

What I love the most about this campaign is that Cadbury goes the extra mile by delivering the joy rewards to your mailbox and doorstep. Many campaigns require you to go all the way down to their office (transportation costs urgh!), and then you have to lug your prize all the way home. So heavy! However, Cadbury. being ever so thoughtful, brings it to you.instead!

PSST! Cadbury is conducting a 48 hour flash sale from 8 Aug - 9 Aug in celebration of Singapore's 48th birthday. They won't be releasing any information until the actual sale begins, but be sure to keep an eye out on their social media platforms for more updates!

For any questions, call Cadbury Rewards Hotline at 67861575 from Mon - Fri, 10a.m - 5p.m or email them at support@cadburyrewards.sg

Happy Cadbury-ing!

 
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