Bangkok: Second visit in 2013

Before I continue on Amsterdam, I'm gonna post some pics frm my recent Bangkok trip! I realized that I tend to jump frm countries to countries and I have loads of back-dated posts which I'm supposed to write abt but nvr got down to it (Eg. Shopping places in HK, Amsterdam part 2, Seoul etc)
Really sorry, I will get down to writing abt them soon!

(You can read my previous entries on Bangkok here: http://weilingweilingweiling.blogspot.ie/search/label/Bangkok)

Anywayz becos I couldn't get enough of the shopping and amazing desserts in Bangkok, I decided to make a short trip back to The Land of Smiles in Dec with my mom! Flights frm Singapore to Bangkok are usually cheap (you can easily get a return flight for less than SGD$200) but becos I only booked my tickets in late Oct, we paid abt SGD$350 per person!

Once again, we stayed in my dad's apartment located in Sathorn area. And of cos, with only 5 days to spare, we spent most of the time shopping and check out food places! Brought my mom to most of the places I've mentioned in my previous entries!

So just gonna post some of the pics I took during the trip, mostly food pics!
(For more info regarding these places, plz look at the previous entries -- link provided above)

Another Hound Café
1st floor, Siam Paragon
Nearest BTS: Siam

 

Finally decided to try the food in this restaurant! This restaurant serves mainly western food!

Sea bass gratin, 320 baht

Risotto with shiitake mushrooms and shrimp roe oil, 220 baht

Red velvet waffles, 160 baht

Banana milkshake, 95 baht

My mother ordered the sea bass gratin while I had the risotto. The risotto was okay, nothing special or remarkable abt the dish. I had the banana milkshake too which was disappointing. I'm a huge fan of banana milkshakes but the milkshake served here was slightly too diluted and not sweet enough! Also, for the price I paid, I was kinda expecting a bigger cup...

The red velvet waffles were the best thing we had that night! Absolutely divine!

 

In short, I'd say just visit this place for their desserts and DO NOT miss out on the red velvet waffles! You can skip the food here!

 

After You

 Ground floor, Siam Paragon

Nearest BTS: Siam

(Other outlets including Silom complex, Central Plaza Lardphrao etc)

 

Green tea mille crepe



Ferrero toast, 195 baht

Abt to dig into the best dessert I've ever had in my entire life!

Decided to be more adventurous this time and try sth besides their toast! Had the green tea mille crepe which wasn't too bad but I've tried better ones! Nonetheless, a good alternative to their famous toast!

 

Roast Café

2nd Floor, Seenspace
Thong Lor Soi 13
Nearest BTS: Thong Lo 

Don't rmb what this was but it was good!

Can nvr go wrong with this seafood stew!

French toast stuffed with bananas, strawberries and cream cheese

Banana pudding

Matcha latte

Visited Roast Café again this time round! I ordered the same dish again, the seafood stew, which was very yummy! My mom had the dish pictured in the first pic, which was equally satisfying!

Decided to try the desserts in Roast instead of heading to Mr Jones Orphanage. Both desserts looked really appetizing but sad to say, they fell short of my expectations. The French toast was far too sweet and after a few bites, it was just too much for me to handle. We could not even bring ourselves to finish it! The banana pudding was just awful.

Not sure if it's becos I ordered the wrong thing or all their desserts are equally bad. Sucha disappointment as the desserts looked really good!

 

Thai food

Mango sticky rice

Sliced pork noodles soup

Pig trotters

Clear tom yum soup

I was addicted to Thai sliced pork noodles soup this visit!!!! It's so yummy!!! If you haven't tried it before, plz do so! You can find it very easily at any food court or roadside stall! The soup is so flavourful and tasty!

Also, the pig trotters were really tender and juicy! Love it! And the clear tom yum soup was so good. Although I was crying while eating (lol cos it was so spicy!!!), I still managed to wipe out the whole bowl! Yum!

Okay that's more or less some of the photos I took during the trip! Gonna end off with a pic of MBK and its Christmas decorations (although Christmas is long over now haha)!

 

Have a great 2014 everyone! X

Singapore: Waffles at Wimbly Lu

Becos I'm missing Spore again, so here's another entry on one of the cafes I visited during my recent summer break!

 

Wimbly Lu

15-2 Jalan Riang

Nearest MRT: Lorong Chuan

(Closed on Mon)

 

Directions frm Lorong Chuan MRT:

Go to the bus stop at Nanyang JC

Take bus no. 58 OR 105

Alight 1 stop later at Golden Heights

Walk into the estate towards Jalan Riang

 

 

Waffles with a scoop of ice cream -- strawberry cheesecake ($8.50)

 

Finally found the time to check out Wimbly Lu with my best friend, Ashley! Felt so proud of Ashley becos for the first time ever, she was the one who found the exact directions to Wimbly Lu and brought me there! Usually I'm the one who googles the directions/ make reservations etc cos I like to be in control lol....

 

We went there at abt 8.30pm and it wasn't too crowded so we managed to get a table immediately. I love the interior deco with fluffy little "clouds" hanging frm the ceiling, so pretty! However, I didn't like the fact that the tables were really close to each other. It felt as though the people sitting beside us could eavesdrop on our conversation anytime? We could barely gossip the entire time. SUXXX.

 

As we weren't feeling very hungry, we only ordered their root beer cake with vanilla ice cream and their waffles. I read online that Wimbly Lu serves the best waffles in Spore so obviously I had high expectations for it.

 

Sad to say, the waffles were really disappointing! I mean, come on, are all bloggers paid to write untrue stuff? The waffles was really bad! It wasn't crispy at all and tasted like it was undercooked? I mean I've worked in Udders (an ice cream shop) before and I knw how to make waffles. Pretty sure even the waffles in Udders tasted better than the one I had in Wimbly Lu! And their scoop of ice cream was really pathetic. It's tiny!!! Such a waste of calories.

If you're craving for waffles, just go to Salted Caramel at Upper Thomson or Strangers' Reunion at Outram instead.
(Read abt the amazing waffles at Strangers' Reunion here: http://weilingweilingweiling.blogspot.ie/2013/09/singapore-waffles-at-strangers-reunion.html)

 

The root beer cake was slightly better than the waffles! It's certainly an interesting combination. It's served in a wine glass, with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. There's a slight taste of root beer and I like that it's not too sweet. However, the slice they served was really small and miserable looking (which explains why I didn't take any photo of it) For $6, I'd say that this cake is worth the try but I wouldn't order it again.

 

Overall, Wimbly Lu was absolutely disappointing. Apart frm its cute whimsical decorations, the desserts were only average. Doubt I'd be visiting this place anytime soon.....

Dublin: Bday x Luigi Malone // Queen of Tarts // J2 Grill and Sushi // Kitchen

So I turned 22 yrs old a few wks ago (7 Sept!) And for my birthday celebration, I visited a few of my fav restaurants in Dublin with some close friends! I had loads of fun and I'm very thankful to everyone who made time to celebrate this special day with me!

 

Luigi Malones
5-6 Cecilia St
Temple Bar
Dublin 2

Buffalo wings with blue cheese

Chicken tequila spaghetti

Steak fajitas

Chicken fajitas

Fresh strawberry and chocolate pavlova

Hot fudge sunda

Minjung and I!

Alero and Aisling



Visited Luigi Malones with a few of my classmates for an advanced birthday celebration! We went there at abt 6pm on a weekday and managed to get the early bird menu which was €18.95 for a 2-course meal! Really worth the money!

 

So it was my second visit to Luigi Malones! My first time was in Cork (another part of Ireland) abt 1.5 yrs ago! I was the only person who ordered a starter -- buffalo wings with blue cheese. I really like this dish!!! It's similar to the famous spicy chicken wings served in Elephant and Castle (also located in Temple Bar) It's really tasty, not spicy at all! I love it!!!! For the ala carte menu, they offer a huge portion of buffalo wings which could easily be your main course!

 

For my main course, I had the chicken tequila spaghetti while all the other girls got fajitas! My spaghetti was okay, a little on the dry side. But they were very generous with the portion. It was huge and I could barely finish it! The fajitas looked amazing and it came with 5 tortilla wraps! I'm definitely gonna order that the nxt time I visit Luigi Malones!

 

For desserts, Aisling and Minjung had the pavlova and Alero ordered the hot fudge sundae. I shared with Minjung and it was my first time having pavlova! Pavlova is meringue-based dessert and it was served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce.
I'm honestly not a fan of meringue becos I knw the amt of sugar which goes into making it. Hence I can't comment much on the pavlova except for the fact that they could have been more generous with the scoop of ice cream.

 

Luigi Malones also offers a wide range of gluten-free dishes so it's a plus point! I really enjoyed my dining experience at Luigi Malones esp since the staff were really helpful and attentive. And my lovely girls surprised me with a bracelet charm frm Links as my birthday present! Aww so sweet!!!

 

Queen of Tarts

Cows Lane
Dame St
Dublin 2

 

Directions:
Walk along Dame St and turn right on Cows Lane

 

A wide selection of cakes available for you to choose frm!

Summer tart: creamed spinach and leek, smoked salmon and roasted tomatoes (€9.95)

Frittata: Mediterranean vegs, basil and parmesan cheese served with tossed green salad (€9.95)

Rustic apple crumble tart (€4.95)

   

 

 

 

So, on the day of my birthday, I decided to go to Queen of Tarts for tea with Minjung. We met at arnd 1.30pm and walked to the place tgt. Plan was to have cakes but we ended up having a full meal at Queen of Tarts! I've been to this place abt 4-5 times, it's a nice place for afternoon tea and cakes. It gets really crowded at times so you might have to wait for a table. There's 2 outlets which are situated really close to each other (the other outlet is just along Dame St), I prefer the Cows lane branch becos it's a lot bigger!!!

 

I ordered the summer tart and Minjung had the frittata. My savoury tart was really yummy!!!! It looks so small but it was really filling! And I had a bite of Minjung's frittata which was really tasty as well! Minjung was too full to have desserts after. I was really full too but being the usual greedy me, I couldn't resist and so I ordered the rustic apple crumble tart! Sadly, the tart wasn't as nice as it looked! It was too sour and I really didn't like it. What a pity...

 

J2 Grill and Sushi

Unit A, The Campshires

North Wall Quay

IFSC, Dublin 1

Nearest LUAS stop: Mayor Square

 

Directions:

From Mayor Square LUAS stop, walk towards the quay

(You will pass by Marks and Spencer's on your right, keep walking straight)

Cross at the traffic light and the restaurant is on your right

  

Spider roll: Crispy soft shell crab, crab meat, masago and avocado (€14.50)

Yummy!!!!

Deluxe bento box of the day: Calamari, tempura, 2 pieces of sushi, 2 pieces of gyoza and edamame served with miso soup and sushi rice (€15.95)

King scallop wok fried udon (€15.50)

Chargrilled steak wok fried udon (€13.50)

Chargrilled steak with garlic butter sauce and chips and onion rings (€16.95)

Ambrish, Mavis, Jiding and I

So it's my 3rd time to J2 grill and sushi and I really like the food here! This place is just a mere 5 min walk frm my house and it's located just beside the quay! A lovely small restaurant which serves amazing Jap sushi!

We ordered the spider roll to share and it was simply delicious! Although I've to say that the presentation of the dish does look a little messy but do not judge a book by its cover, no regrets spending €14.50 (SGD$24.55) on 8 pieces of maki!!!

Ambrish ordered their deluxe bento box of the day. I've tried that on my previous visit and I've to say that the bento box is good value for money! I ordered the king scallop wok fried udon and it's my 2nd time having it! I love it! Normally, I'm not a fan of fried noodles but this was really yummy!!! We pinched some fries and onion rings which was served with Mavis' steak and the fries were exceptionally good, like super crispy and tasty!

No doubt one of my fav Jap restaurants in Dublin! Although a little pricey but the food here is definitely worth the try!

Kitchen
3 South Anne St
Dublin 2

(One of the lanes off Grafton St)

 

Starter -- Crispy calamari with vine tomato chilli jam (€7)

Cajun Creole jambalaya with chicken, prawns, cockles and chorizo with Arborio rice (€14.95)

Rib eye steak with herb roasties and steam broccoli with classic Béarnaise sauce (€19.95)

 

 

  

Guinness sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream (€6)

My greedy face hee hee

My dad came to visit me in Dublin a wk after my actual birthday so we had a belated birthday dinner one night after an event in my sch! Initially, I wanted to try the Wine Cave at KC Peaches for dinner but my dad found this place and suggested having dinner here instead. I'm so glad that I chose to visit Kitchen instead becos it was sucha nice place and the food was sooo good!!!

 

Kitchen is a small 2-storey restaurant in one of the lanes off Grafton St, one of the busiest street in Dublin. They offer an early bird menu on Sun - Wed all evening/ Thurs - Sat 5-7pm at only €20 for 2 courses/ €25 for 3 courses. Pity I had a sch event that evening so we only arrived at the restaurant at 8.30pm and hence missed out on the early bird menu.

 

We had calamari for starters and I really liked the sweet chilli sauce but my dad said it was too sweet. For mains, I ordered the ribeye steak while my dad had the jambalaya (which is similar to risotto) I opted for medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. The jambalaya my dad ordered was so yummy!!! I'm definitely gonna order that for myself the nxt time!!!

 

For desserts, I had the Guinness sticky toffee pudding and I really liked it! I love sticky toffee pudding! My dad thinks it's too sweet though but I love sweet stuff hee hee!!!!

 

Definitely a thumbs up for Kitchen and I'd love to visit this place again soon! The ambience was really nice, a perfect spot for dinner dates and the service was good too. Would recommend that you call in to place a reservation before heading over as it is a small restaurant with slightly over 15 tables.

 

-

 

And that is all for my 22nd birthday! My 2nd time spending my birthday in Dublin and even though I'm miles apart frm my best friend (Ashley) and my closest pals in Spore, I'm really thankful for everyone who took some time out of their busy schedule to celebrate this special day with me! And I'm also very touched by all the efforts put into surprising me. Thank you very much.

 

Gonna end off this entry with a group shot taken at Gideon's/ Ambrish's crib which was transformed into a "club" for my birthday celebration!

 

 

T'was a great night! Cheers to being 22 yrs old! I'm still feeling 19 though haha! X