Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tea Shake Hut


My emphasis these days (due to my problematic stomach) is nice simple good food haunts. Guess where I found my good meal this time. Amidst the busy Bugis Junction.

Many people may have overlooked this place as a just a bubble tea place. But hey! You maybe wrong. If you take a closer look next time, you realised a lot of the diners here are actually having fried rice, fried bee hoon, hor-fun and even claypot rice! But of course, most of them are still here for the tea. We are no different.


In particular, I like the Hot Almond Tea (@ S$4.50) and I never fail to order this every time I visit this place. The tea comes served in a white pot and with teacups and is enough for 2. I must also recommend the hot fried rice that comes served with 3 chicken wings! Maybe the rice is pre-cooked and then it is microwaved when served. But that simple dish is really good. Warm and delicious. A mouthful taken down with the chilli, it wont disappoint! Then finishing the meal with the Hot Almond Tea, this is one of life’s greatest simple pleasure! Ahh…


Tea Shake Hut is located at #01-56, Bugis Junction, Singapore. Do check it out!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Riders Café

First of all, I must wish Singapore a Happy National Day !! We are 43 years of nation building today... and May our nation be peaceful and properous always!

On this special day, I will share my little delightful secret...! This one’s a real hidden gem. Located within the Bukit Timah Saddle Club. We stumbled upon this place by chance and I really love it! I thought I had travelled to Australia. The nature, the greenery is such a welcoming change for us. Driving in along Eng Neo Ave into the Fairways Drive, the white ranches lead you to think that you are already in the countryside and escaped from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Finally nestled in the greenery, you see the horse stables.


Riders Café is located between the horse stables and beside the Mimolette. The café is not air-conditioned and is in a good old charming single-storey black and white block retaining its colonial flavour . Its housed within this block with the “Bukit Timah Saddle Club” signboard hung outside.


Lucky for Ted and me! We were offered the lovely Members Lounge Area – these are balcony seats at the patio overlooking the children’s playground and the horse stables! Lovely except that it can be quite hot in the day. But thankfully, there are fans installed at the patio though.


The friendly staff came over and we ordered our lunch. Light and healthy is our motto these days. I would recommend this place for a good breakfast or lunch too. I had the BLT (Bacon Light Toast @ S$9.95) while Ted went for the Appetiser – Portobello Mushroom (@ S$8.95) as he was going to be “extra light”. We also ordered a Pot of Camomile Tea (@ S$5 per pot) to share.

The meal surprisingly came in portions we desired. The appetiser was well cooked with the balsamic vinegar and looks like a piece of art when it was served. Compared to the Portobello Mushroom bun we had at the Green Café Room the other day (See post on The Green Room Café), we felt this simple dish appears to be somewhat better. The salad greens were fresh too and felt like one of those picked from the green fields outside!


The BLT was normal in my opinion. The Bacon seems to be too hard, perhaps overcooked and was a little too tough on my teeth! Ouch. The salad green was fine.


The white pot of Camomile Tea came served with a small pot of honey. The nice aroma of the Camomile Tea gave a lovely calming effect and brought the meal to a nice close for the two of us, chatting away at the patio overlooking the horse stables...

Riders Café is at the Bukit Timah Saddle Club, open to the public. It’s a a drive along Eng Neo Avenue with a turn into the small road leading to Fairway Drives, when you see the Bukit Timah Saddle Club signboard.

Monday, August 4, 2008

The Green Room Café

Pssst… have a newfound secret. Found a quiet green heaven with eateries right smack around the city. It brings me so much happiness and joy today as I have never felt so healthy and good before!


Went for a healthy walk at Bishan Park this morning and chanced upon this group of Deli in the Park eateries. A concept café by the Asmara Tropical Spas and managed by the Aramsa Spas, there are also another 3 lovely eateries there. The park is actually quite huge, divided into 2 parts (Park I and Park II). Some more eateries can also be found around the Park. But here we were at the Bishan Park II. Walking around the big park, watching the dogs running around in the Dog Run Area and looking at the pond… we spent a quiet morning there. If you love the greenery, you will also love to dine at one of these eateries there!

Looking around the group of eateries at the Park II, we choose The Green Room Café as we are prepared to get healthy and have a good clean diet too! Plus with my problematic stomach these days and only starting to get better, I deserve to start anew with a healthy diet. Away with the old!


And so I did it! Had a healthy detox diet for lunch. At The Green Room Café! This place is quietly camouflaged among the many plants and shrubs, and hidden at the area inner among the 2 other restaurants, the Canopy Bar and Acacia Restaurant in the Park. Nice white walls lined the interior of the restaurant. Décor is simple as are the dishes listed in the menu. This place boosts of outstanding food served there that will change the way you view vegetarian cuisines. So after a good walk in the morning, I was all ready to go for some light delicious and healthy vegetarian food …


To start off, I had the Detox Fruit Juice (@ S$7.80) consisting of a mix of Carrot, Apple and Cucumber juices. It was a real refreshing drink! Never knew this concoction can create such a nice blended, quenching and refreshing feeling. Immediately felt good having a gulp already.

My choice today was the Portobello Field Mushroom (@ S$12.80). This proved to be nice and healthy indeed. Dish was marinated in rich aged balsamic vinegar, topped with their homemade tomato relish and served between a freshly baked bun with some fresh summer leaf salad. The balsamic vinegar was sweet and blends very well with the 2 Portobello mushrooms. The dish was also served with a generous serving of chips and the salad was fresh as the day!

I feel all light and refreshed today with this simple meal! You may want to try it sometimes and I believe I may be back there again! For your info, there is also the Aramsa – Garden Spa, Fox Spa Salon and Power Moves Pilates Studio all there too, if you feel like some therapy for your soul! I already feel nurtured today, at this green hidden newfound secret! The Green Room Café is at Bishan Park II, beside Aramsa – Garden Spa.