Bliss Restaurant, Punggol Park

Celebrated Teddy's birthday at Bliss Restaurant located within Punggol Park. I would rate the food there great!! Definitely going back for more next time. Usually I would go for the Grilled Chicken Chop with mushroom sauce. This time, I tried the new dish - Grilled Pork Chop with mushroom sauce. The pork was tender and juicy! The best part about the dish is the mashed potatoes which is soft and tastes like milk. Yummy! Ted ordered the dory fish fillet which came served with rice but it tastes great too! We ordered the set and was given a free drink. For Ted, surprise!! for the birthday boy! He was served a nice brownie with ice-cream for his birthday. Huff puff, poof, happy birthday Teddy!!

Shenzhen (Jin Xiu Jiangnan) June Town Chinese Restaurant

Had dinner at this restaurant last Sunday in Shenzhen. Restaurant was a stone's throw away from the Oriental Ginza Grand Mercure Hotel (located at Futian District), the place where we stayed. (See blog written below)

It appears when we stood outside this restaurant, we saw its list of accolades - listed in the food directory as one of the few good places to eat for its Lobster and Hairy Crab dishes. There were a few plaques and awards lined on its wall too so we decided to try...

Of all the dishes we ordered, I liked the Shenjin tian-ya (goose meat) best. It tastes simply heavenly! Apart from the skin which was a little fat and oily, the dish was great. But I suppose its this skin that made this dish what it is!!! So no complaints about it. Also, noted that the goose meat had some strains of the goose hairy stubs on it. Not sure if its meant to be served as part of the fantaastic skin though... but overall, its still a GREAT goose dish!

We also ordered dim-sum and many other jiangnan flavoured dishes. The charsiew was great! It was so crispy done, it sizzles. There was a layer of fatty oil on it - which made its flavour stand out! Yummy. We also tried dishes such as kai-lan vegetables served on cold ice, bai-ling mushroom with caixin, grilled pork slices... etc It was good meal. We had to down it with chinese tea to wash away the oil and for all the sinful but delicious food we had there. Overall, the food served tantalised my tastebuds and the meal does not burn a hole in your pocket. With about 8-9 dishes we ordered, we only forked out a sum of about RMB 195 (approx S$65) for 4 person. Well worth a visit. June Town Restaurant is located at :
Futian District, Shennan Boulevard, Zhuzilin Qiushi Building 2, Level 3. Tel: +86 (0755) 33361888.

Shenzhen Oriental Ginza Grand Mercure Hotel

On work assignment to Shenzhen. Stayed at Oriental Ginza Grand Mercure Hotel. Business Hotel with facilities that would please the tired but fit conscious business traveller. The hotel boosts of a gym and an indoor swimming pool on Level 5.

Tried the hotel's restaurant, Wei Pin Xun Chinese Restaurant on Level 3 yesterday. Its a Cantonese and Teochew cuisine restaurant. We had dim-sum which was pretty good. The dishes we tried such as the Peking Duck was delicious and very reasonably priced (48 yuan appx S$10). The skin was crispy and the excess fats on the skin were removed, making it a healthy eat. The other dim-sum dishes we ordered such as hargow, siew mai were nice too.

In particular, we discovered that one of the specialty in Shenzhen where people like to eat is the Shu-bin (crispy cake). The crispy cakes typically has a crispy crust with fillings such as custard, charsiew, durian etc. The charsiew crispy cake we tried here was a little disappointing as the skin was just normal and not as crispy as the one we tasted in another place here in Shenzhen few days back ...

Overall, the restaurant is recommended for a reasonable and fulfilling meal. Worth a visit given that its located within a 5-star hotel and its convenience situated just beside the Zhuzilin Metro Station. For info, it is at Oriental Ginza Mercure Hotel, Shennan Boulevard West, Futian District, Guangdong Province, Shenzhen 51840 P.R. China Tel: +86 (0755) 83500888.

Tomatoes Time !

I am now trying my hands at planting tomatoes! See what I have:


This shot above was taken on 20 Oct 2007 about 1 week after we threw in the tomato seeds.


Now the shot above was taken on 29 Oct 2007 just 9 days after. Look how they have grown!

My wishful thinking is that it will give me some nice, juicy red and fat tomatoes-on-the-vine like what I had the other day... yum yum yum. Cant wait for them to grow. I may have to think of a way to set up some protective tent to prevent my tomatoes from being infested by any pests...