Food Lingo - Two Sisters' Food Diary

Date: 30th June 2010
Venue: Awfully Chocolate
Country: Singapore
Cuisine: Baked Goods


Smooth dark chocolate fudge sandwiched by 2 layers of not-too-sweet moist dark chocolate cake. With the chocolate flavour, sugar and moisture level striking the right balance, you will not feel overpowered by the cake. At least, we can eat our fill without feeling 'sick'. We have a suspicion that the cake is steamed instead of baked, judging by the moisture level and the texture. So is the chocolate really unique? Sorry, we cannot vouch for that, as we are really no chocolate connoisseurs.  

Our verdict? We like the cake.
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Address: 9 Raffles Place #01-16, Republic Plaza (one of 6 outlets)
Tel: 6535 6593
Website: http://www.awfullychocolate.com/index.php
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Cost of Cake = S$ 25.80 / US$ 18.50
Rating = 4/5

Date: 25th June 2010
Venue: Ajisen Ramen, Lot 1, Choa Chu Kang
Country: Singapore
Cuisine: Japanese


Don't we just love Fridays as they signal the start of the weekends. This Friday we decided to treat ourselves to a bowl of hot and spicy Ramen, despite the fact that we had been nursing sore throats for about a week. We joined the queue at almost 8pm but it moved pretty fast and soon we were seated. However, dad and dec were so hungry that we did not have the chance to take a snapshot of their food before they tucked in. So these are the rest of our orders.

Spicy Ramen (S$6.80 / US$4.90)
Ramen with spicy soup base, topped with bean sprouts, minced meat, seaweed, spring onion and braised egg. One of the items for Ajisen's Anniversary Specials, hence the price.The springy ramen went well with the pork-base milky soup. Like this one.
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Tom Yam Ramen Set (S$13.80 / US$10.00)
Ramen set includes 1 ramen, 1 alacarte item and 1 drink. Fusion food combining japanese ramen with Thai tom yam seafood (squid, crab-stick and scallop) soup and served with a lime. The effect of springy ramen with the sourish and mildly spicy is good, but not for food purist though. Notice the size of the spoon? 
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Fried Tofu (Alacarte item for Chicken Teriyaki Ramen set)
Otherwise known as Agadashi Tofu. Deep fried silken tofu in broth made of dashi, mirin, and shō-yu (Japanese soy sauce), and topped with finely chopped spring onion and grated bonito flakes(dried fish) are sprinkled on top. Ordered this specially for Baby C.
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Silverfish (Alacarte item for Tom yam Ramen set)
Silverfish coated with flour and deep fried till crisp.
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Total Cost of Meal (3 Adults & 1 Child) = S$ 49.67 / US$ 35.85
Rating = 3.75/5
Flip : Spicy Ramen

Venue: Restoran CM, 亚明潮式鱼汤, Johor Bahru, Johor
Cuisine: Chinese

Restoran CM is a middle-class eatery located at the 1st storey of a terrace shop house unit. We patronise the place from time to time for their signature fried fish head, though the prices are not really economical for the serving size.

Fried Fish Meat, 炒鱼片 (RM17.00 / US$5.25)
Their signature dish, with choice of fish head, fish meat or fish stomach. A spicy dish, stir-fried with lots of dried chilli, ginger, spring onion, and oil, the sliced fish meat taste tender and a little on the salty side, with a hint of fermented black bean.
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Fish Soup, 鱼片汤 (RM9.00 / US$2.75)
Good clear fish soup, with sliced fish, salted mustard leaves and green leafy vegetables. The sliced fish goes well with sliced chilli in light soya sauce or minced garlic.
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Beancurd with Minced Meat, 肉碎豆腐 (RM6.00 / US$1.85)
Steam beancurd topped with minced pork and mushroom cooked with fermented soya bean.
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Venue: Dian Xiao Er, Changi Airport, Terminal 3, Level 3
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner

A treat for ourselves on a Friday evening, rounded up with watching the planes at the viewing mall.

Duck Roasted with Angelica Herb
Dian Xiao Er's signature dish is roast duck. They offer 3 choices: duck roasted with angelica herb, ten wonder herb or wild ginseng. We chose the first one and requested for more gravy. We are never fans of roast duck, yet we are sold on this one.
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Fish Maw with Seafood
A traditional chinese thick soup with lots of fish maw and crab meat. Add a dash of pepper and black vinegar to enhance the taste.
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Baby Kai-Lan with Salted Fish & Lime
Crisp baby kai-lan leaves, with a hint of lime and little cubes of salted fish.
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Prawn Ball with Dragonfruit Sauce
This dish consists of deep fried prawn balls, dressed in red dragonfruit (otherwise known as Pitaya) sauce and served with diced white dragonfruit and strawberries. It is listed in Dian Xiao Er's healthier choice series for the nutritional value of dragonfruit. Pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species and supposedly has medicinal benefit, such as lowers cholesterol and blood pressure and contains cancer-preventing antioxidants. However, due to the bland taste of the fruit and hence the sauce, and the strong after-taste of oil in the prawn balls, we did not fancy this dish.

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Address: #03-42 T3 Viewing Mall, Terminal 3, Changi Airport
Tel: (65)6542 3789
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 2.30 pm | 5.30pm - 11.00pm
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Total Cost of Meal (3 Adults & 1 Child) = S$90.15 / US$65.05
[inclusive of 5 drinks, 4 servings of rice and a packet of roast duck rice for take-away] 

Stall - Yue Lai Xiang Cheng Teng (S$2.00 / US$1.40)

Date: 5th June 2010
Venue: Carabao Restaurant, Johor Bahru, Johor
Country: Malaysia
Cuisine: Thai
Meal: Dinner

We were pleasantly surprised by the good food served during the last visit, so we're back to try out more of their dishes.

However, due to the dim lighting during the night time, this time around, the photos are nothing to shout about. Moreover, this time around the food ordered did not taste as good as our first visit. Wonder why.



Thai Sizzling Toufu (RM12.90 / US$3.95)
Deep fried toufu on a thin layer of omelette, topped with mixed vegetable, mushroom and minced meat. Ordered this thinking that our junior can have the gravy with his rice. Yet the dish turned up to be spicy as well. To think we are told this is a non-spicy dish....
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Somtum (RM10.90 / US$3.30)
Thai green papaya salad; strips of green papaya, cucumber and carrot with thai dressing, topped with deep fried anchovies. We ordered the mildly hot version (with only 2 chili padi). The reduced spiciness may have resulted in the lessened appeal of the dish.
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Otak-Otak (RM18.90 / US$5.75)
Made from steaming a mixture of spices, coconut milk and chunks of seafood on a bed of thai basil, wrapped in aluminium foil. We do not fancy this dish though as it taste too strongly of basil. The most expensive dish of the night, yet the most disappointing.
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Address: 16, Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir, 80300 Johor Bahru, Johor
Tel: 607-335 9333
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Total Cost of Meal (4 Adults) = RM106.48/ US$ 32.40

Date: 5th June 2010

Chocolate Banana Cake (RM6.50 / US$2.00)
Their award-winning signature creation. Chocolate cake with generous chunks of fresh banana.
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Black forest Cheese Cake (RM6.80 / US$2.10)
Understand from Secret Recipe Website that this is their new product.
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From left to right
Oreo Milkshake (RM8.50 / US$2.60)
Banana Yoghurt Shake (RM8.50 / US$2.60)
Our beverages of the day.
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French Fries (Small) (RM6.00 / US$1.80)
A savoury snack to counter all the sweetness.
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Address: 1.09, Level 1, Plaza Pelangi, 2 Jln Kuning, Tmn Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor.
Tel: 07-333 2611
Opening hours: 10am - 10 pm daily
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Total Cost of Meal (2 Adults) = RM41.75 / US$ 12.70

Date: 4th June 2010

Date: 2nd June 2010