Ms Skinnyfat

Spanish tapas is one of my food loves; I absolutely adore the simple, unpretentious and hearty food served at many tapas bars in Spain and i've been on a lookout for a good one in Singapore. You can imagine my excitement when FoodBar DaDa opened. This haute tapas bar sounds just up my alley and is situated at one of my favorite dining enclaves, Robertson Quay.

It's easy to miss this bar; you can hardly spot the small black sign on top. The green tinted glass and black metal grille facade camouflages it well. The industrious looking gate, without a sign or knob, shields dinners from prying eyes outside. Once in, you'll be seated along a grunge yet chic alley, perched on tall stools around the kitchen bar.

Start with a bespoke cocktail by local bartenders Eugene and Din. Simply tell them what you feel like having and you'll get what you want. I asked for sweet and refreshing and i got a Blackforest Mojito (S$19) served in a tin can. Z had the Out of This World which had a light floral elderflower liquor base. The drinks tasted special but i could hardly taste any alcohol in them.

Our amuse bouche was Toast with roasted red peppers, onion and vinegar. It tasted kind of like pizza but with a burst of summer in it.

The presentation of the Watermelon Gazpacho and Charcoal Olive Oil Ice Cream (S$12) was unique, being served in a martini glass. This is reminiscent of the best cold tomato soup i had in Madrid but with a hint of Asia in it (fried shallots really?). The olive oil cream helped neutralize the acidity of the tomato to give it a smoother texture.

Most dishes are cooked in the acclaimed Josper grill, a pressurized charcoal grill that retains the natural flavors of the ingredients while giving them a nice smokiness. The Baby Squid and Eggs (S$18) was fresh and smoky but the heavy use of garlic once again is very typically Asian cuisine. The dish is salty on its own but the sodium kinda evens out when eaten with the fluffy brioche-like toast.

On first taste, the Shishito Peppers with Shitake Mushrooms (S$11) was sweet then citrusy. I love the pistachio and nut crunch that accompanies the earthy ingredients. However, i can't shake off that nagging feeling/taste of Chinese cuisine.

I was absolutely confounded after tasted the Black Mediterranean Rice (S$8 for a portion). There is no doubt that the paella was executed nicely (al dente and moist), but if i close my eyes and taste this, i would say it's rice cooked in Sukiyaki soup. The dish was missing the smokiness of the squid ink as well as that savory seafood taste. Up to this point, i started wondering if i was having Japanese food instead.

The chef was quite amused by my description of the dishes (he thought i am Japanese). Apparently that's how paella is done in Catalunya. I've only tried Paella Valencia in Madrid and Barcelona so there's no standard to compare to. The open concept kitchen indeed allowed for interaction between the chefs and patrons though we were the only ones chatting with the cute Brazilian chef. Do you know that paella was originally cooked with only vegetables? The Spaniards simply threw in whatever ingredients they could find during the war and that's how the dish came about. Little bit of history from our chef. :) We ended up reminiscing the fresh food and produce at La Boqueria in Barcelona. A trip back is definitely needed.

I would say that the dining experience at Foodbar Dada is chic but comfortable. It's not for everyone though, especially if you have a huge appetite. Remember, this is a haute tapas bar and they do small plates. Flavors wise, i wish they would have more typically Spanish food like croquetas, chorizo, Spanish omelette, jamon, meatballs... the more hearty sort of dishes. Good news is that the menu changes every now and then. New dishes would be coming out 2 weeks later. Hopefully it's more Spanish then.

Foodbar Dada
60 Robertson Quay, #01-12
Tel: +65 6735 7738

Tue - Sat: 6pm - 12am

Was invited by Nuffnang to join the Genting Highlands Foodie Tour with LadyIronChef some time back. In Part 1 of my post, i highlighted some interesting things to do in Genting Highlands, Malaysia (read about it here). So here is Part 2 on the food.

We ate at several of the hotel restaurants during our stay- Resorts Hotel's Resort Cafe, Highands Hotel's Coffee Terrace and also Genting Palace Restaurant. Didn't like Resort Cafe's food. Nothing special. Mostly Malay food and kuehs. Oh really bad coffee btw. That was what everyone was talking about after. Coffee Terrace has more of an international spread. I enjoyed the Japanese and Roast section the most. Not a bad for an international buffet. My favorite however is Genting Palace Restaurant. It is definitely a place to go back to again.

We had dinner and dimsum breakfast here on 2 occasions and i was really impressed with the food. Do you know that all the restaurants in Genting Highlands do not use MSG? Natural seasoning are used to bring out the flavors of the ingredients and they were really delicious. Some of my favorite dishes from the dinner are as follows.

Huge fresh prawns cooked in a sweet and sour sauce; succulent flesh that is easily separated from the shell, easily one of the best dishes. Mama doesn't take pork so everyone let her have more of this (so sweet).

The friendly head chef Jacky was explaining to us how to cook vegetables. You got to cook them in boiling water, add some salt and ginger juice/slices to it, then fry them with the other ingredients after. Do this to maintain that crunchiness and the nice greens. Throw in some braised baby abalones and you get a decadent dish.

I'm not a fish fan but i couldn't stop eating this dish! Cantonese steamed fish topped with enoki mushrooms, shredded pork and maybe some preserved vegetables. It's sweet and savory all at once, definitely umami.

Yam rice was also a delight. Each grain was fluffy and full and they did not stick to each other too much. Love those chunks of yam and preserved Chinese sausage in this one. Very fragrant.

Everyone loved this Mango and cream mochi because it was wonderfully light. I felt like i was floating on a piece of cloud. Chef Jacky said he could fill them with durians too. I'll definitely be back for this next time.

Me with Chef Jacky, LadyIronChef and the Genting Marketing Team who hosted us for the trip.

Chef Jacky is really the sweet and charming chef. He entertained us all night with his tales and nuggets of cooking tips. He also happened to like my Mama quite a bit! Pulled her into his arms when she wanted a picture. So cute. :) Glad my little old lady enjoyed herself.

Our dimsum breakfast was prepared by the youngest executive chef in Genting and it was one of the better dimsum that i've tried in my life. I would say it's comparable to the 1 Michelin Stars that I had in Hong Kong.

Fried Yam Balls stuffed with char siew. Crispy latticed batter with juicy honey barbecued pork inside. The yam paste is dense with some little chunks of yam. Yums.

Steamed tender pork ribs with black beans and chili. When pork is this fresh, it's sweet. The meat simply fell off the bone.

No pretty pictures of the flowy golden liquor from the Salted Egg Custard Bun because i gobbled them up immediately. Simply one of the best steamed custard buns i've tried. It's also the first time Mama tried this hot, and she loved it. :)

Mama also loved the Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Chinese Mushrooms. Juicy stewed mushrooms with delicate chicken meat. I love that it's moist and nicely flavored with the dark soy sauce and natural jus from the fungi.

Best puff pastry egg tarts that I've had. The glossy egg was semi solid that disintegrates once you send it into your mouth. The puff was crisp and crumbly as well. I believe i was doing a little dance after popping the first one. Then the second.. and the third..

Me with the Chef and the only proper picture that Mama and i took with Brad.

Short me and tall Brad. After many failed self portrait shots, he finally got one that we both look ok in. :)

Once again, thanks Nuffnang and Resorts World Genting for the awesome trip. And thanks to LadyIronChef for being such a great travel guide too! :)

Malaysia on Dwellable

I'm guilty of eating out very often and well i never had to step into the kitchen to cook anything except for myself (i thank the most wonderful woman in my life for that, my dearest mama). She is quite the matriarch and the kitchen is her territory. As much as i wanted to try cooking, my limited cooking ability and together with the ban from the kitchen at home, i could only do something as simple as chopping up fruits. Even that i haven't done in ages ://

Today i'll share with you a modified Kiwifruit Salsa dish which was provided by Zespri to help me get creative with the fruit. I was going to attempt the Roasted Chicken with Kiwifruit salsa originally http://www.zespri.com.sg/en/recipes/ but guess what this lazy girl did? I removed the cooking portion and made the simplified version of the salsa for my nachos.

The Lazy Girl Kiwifruit Salsa with Nachos (Serves 2)
2 ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit, peeled, diced (Gold and Green)
1 Orange, peeled, segmented, chopped
½ cup Tomato, seeded, diced (Or diced ones from the can will do too)
Add any other fruits that you fancy. I recommend strawberries, grapes and mango

(Not a fan of all the onions and peppers so i removed them)

Directions: TOSS TOSS TOSS

Serve with Tositos Scoops (Available at most supermarkets)

It's quite the refreshing snack on the go. I brought this on the Henderson walk. It's really not that hard to make. If you are lazier than thou, just throw all the ingredients into the processor and let it do the dicing. :)

It's not that hard trying to cook something for the family. It doesn't even have to be real cooking in fact. S enjoyed this quite a fair bit and i'm making more for the family as per their request. :)) What matters more is the effort you put in and the time spent together. If you don't like eating (i can't imagine anyone hating it though), do something that you guys enjoy like checking out a new park or museums. Gardens by the Bay maybe? I recommend exploring Henderson Waves and the Southern Ridges.

If you need inspiration for interesting dishes, check out http://www.zespri.com.sg/en/recipes/ for some kiwifruit twist in your cooking. Cheers!

Swirls Bake Shop is a gourmet American cupcake bakery that has been described as the "Best cupcake store Singapore has seen" in a mere 6 months since its opening. Nestled in the Rodyk estate, it has garnered a strong following from the expatriate crowd and locals alike with their luscious cupcakes and wide variety of flavors (they have 101 thus far).

This did not come easy. Former fashion stylist Alia S Dada and husband Danish road-tripped across the USA and Europe, stopping at every bakery they could find. The cupcake lovers tried and baked countless cupcakes before finally perfecting their recipe to bring us these moist and flavorful desserts.

Clockwise from front: Strawberry Burst, Nutella, Very Vanilla and Tiramisu

Danish even developed his own vanilla extract and other quality ingredients are sourced from London. Thank god for Swirls' Tiny cupcakes if not we would not be able to taste so many flavors. It's 1/4 the guilt but the same 100% satisfaction. Strawberry Burst was a refreshing and tangy depart from the usual chocolate or vanilla cake. Fresh strawberries are blended into this one and topped with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. I like that it isn't too sweet. Oh So Cocoa was full of chocolate goodness and the chocolate butter cream frosting makes the cupcake smoother and creamier.

The Red Velvet is extremely delightful. S finished the whole regular sized one before i knew it! He is really the Red Velvet fan, having spent a couple of months hunting down the best one in NYC. This is definitely comparable. The interior is a moist and dense crimson chocolate and the light cream cheese frosting complements it well.

My other favorite is What’s Up Doc?, a carrot-cake cupcake. This is something that i would get in the Colossal size (Giant Cupcake)! I would say it's the best carrot cake i've tasted in Singapore. Shredded carrot is used in this cupcake and crushed pineapples were used to give it that extra zest. The cream cheese frosting is a tad too much for the tiny one though.

Everyday, Swirls will showcase different flavours from their Specials Range, which changes every month. I simply have to rave about the Tiramisu. The coffee, kahlua and cream mascarpone is a lethal combination that blew me away. It's my weakness. I would have a dozen of these anytime.

Swirls Bake Shop is definitely my favorite cupcake bakery in Singapore! Highly recommended. Special thanks to Alia and Danish for inviting me to their cupcake tasting. Finally a taste of NYC in our own backyard! Tiny cupcakes are priced $2.50-$2.95 and regular size ones $3.95-$4.10. Special cupcakes are priced differently.

Ending the weekend on a sweet note! Buy a cupcake, or maybe a dozen home. It will ease the Monday blues a little. :) Cheers!

Swirls Bake Shop
8 Rodyk Street, #01-08
Singapore 238216
Tel: +65 6634 4765
Daily: 11am - 7pm

What's the highlight for weekends? BRUNCH. Better still, All-Day-Breakfast. And where can you get them? Food for Thought. Whenever i feel like having creamy scrambled eggs along with some moist buttermilk pancakes, this is where i'll head to. However, what puts me off is the long queue at 8 Queen Street Outlet on weekends. Thankfully, the folks at Fft has opened a bigger outlet at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which can house more than 200 guests!

The service at the Botanic Gardens outlet is slightly different the one at SAM. This is a semi self-service system where you order and pay at the cashier and then the food gets served to you at your table. Even though it's pretty big, but it takes a while to get a table and then a little more to get your food. I prefer the sit down service at 8Q because at least i don't have to stand around to grab tables a la food court style.

I prefer to customize my own brekkie set and this is what i'd recommend. Scrambled Eggs with Cream (S$4), Garlic Mushrooms (S$3) and Chunky Chicken Sausage (S$4). FfT has one of the better scrambled eggs around because they actually use cream in theirs to give it that runny and buttery texture. Cream fraiche would be better but that's a lot more expensive. There are other sides like Bacon, Hash Brown and Tomato Mesclun Salad. I would say skip the Toasts unless you really need carbs. Their spreads are really pathetic though.

What you should not miss out on is the pancakes. 2 Buttermilk base Pancakes served with Fresh Cream and Gula Melaka Syrup with the choice of different flavors such as Banana and Walnuts, Milk Chocolate, Dark Choc and Raspberries etc. Prices range from S$8 to $12.

I like the tinge of saltiness in the moist and fluffy pancake batter. The chocolate ones provide the sweet flavor to my savory eggs and sausages and makes this another winning sweet+savory combination!

If you are not up for brunch (seriously how can you not?!), there are other dishes available such as local lunches like Chicken Rendang. Burgers, Salads, Pastas and other Western mains are also served here.

Food for Thought at Singapore Botanic Gardens is perfect for weekend brunch. Instead of heading straight for a shopping centre or cinema, why not make use of this opportunity to explore the green spaces around us? I'd say bag your food, lay down barefoot on the fresh pillowy grass and let nature envelop your senses (after you fill your tummy with the delicious food).

Happy weekends people!

Food For Thought
1 Cluny Road #B1-00
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6338 4848

Daily: 8am to 9pm (Fri and Sat till 10pm)

The Zespri kiwifruits have landed on our sunny island! I'm not sure if you guys have noticed this but i've spotted them at the supermarkets already! Whee! I love eating these brown furry fellas because i love Vitamin C. Did you know that these little kiwifruits are in fact packed with twice the amount of Vitamin C as compared to our typical go-to-fruit, orange. A single Zespri Gold Kiwifruit exceeds the minimum recommended daily intake of Vitamin C for a day! How awesome is that?

I was invited by Zespri to take part in the first-ever 14-Day Daily Scoop of Amazing Challenge. In the next 14 days, i would be eating, breathing and living Zespri Kiwifruits! I will attempt (the keyword is attempt) to get creative with kiwis, so watch this space. Will be updating my day to day activities and kiwinspiration on my Facebook Page, Twitter and Instagram (@Msskinnyfat) as well. There will be a special Zespri Giveaway for readers at the end of 2 weeks. So go ahead, Comment, Like, and Share away!

We kicked-off the Challenge with dinner at The Living Cafe yesterday and it was my first raw food meal! This carnivore was quite worried at first but found out that "raw" also meant unprocessed and organic and some food were cooked as well. -Phew- Here is what we ate, and also a preview of potential kiwifruit dishes that you can prepare!

We started with a Raw Bruschetta with Pesto and Kiwi Salsa as our Entree. The sweet kiwifruit really goes well with the acidity from the Salsa. I love the cracker, which is probably made from dehydrated nuts (I'm obviously not a cook). It really whets the appetite and i kept telling Hazel (Aimakan) that i'm starving.

I was surprised when i touched my Raw Kiwi and Apple Gazpacho soup for it was cold. Yes, that's what raw food is about sometimes. It tasted exactly like blended fruit juice but it was more cool tasting than sweet. Seems like quite an easy dish to make right? :)

Our Main Course was a Grilled Salmon fillet stuffed with cauliflower puree, served with mixed salad and kiwi citrus. The salmon was a little overcooked but i love the crunch and light bitterness of the cauliflower. They also used my favorite Japanese sesame dressing on the rockets. Yums.

Dessert was a Raw Kiwi Pie and everyone was cringing their faces because the first bite was sour. I played it smart and started with the nut milk filling (it tasted of coconut). I love the creamy silky texture of the pudding. Surprisingly, my kiwi topping wasn't too sour. :) Love the nutty base again. I believe it's dehydrated and not baked.

Ended our dinner on a sweet note with our kiwifruit cups! This is how i love to eat them best! As usual i was playing with my food and i roped Hazel into doing the same. And it was caught on film by the photographer! :/

Group shot of the bloggers and friends who are participating in the 14 day challenge. Where did Hazel disappear to?! Anyway, the possibility of me winning this challenge is close to 0 with all these great blogger cooks around! I'm going for the lazy girl's approach to eating more fruits. I already have a few silly ideas in mind. Heh. Keep a look out!

Do remember to check out my Facebook Page for daily tips and updates! Visit the Zespri website for kiwi recipes too. :) Remember, a kiwi a day keeps the doctor away (apples are too low in Vit C content).

The Living Cafe
779 Bukit Timah Rd
Mon – Sat: 9am – 6pm
Phone +65 6762-8029

New punk on the street is Broadcast HQ, a Meat Mead Music melting pot opened by Harry Grover of 40 Hands, George Grover of Aussie music company Broadcast Events and the Spa Esprit group. Word has it that they are ruling the exotic and enigmatic Little India precinct and stealing the thunder from the "ladies" of the night.

The industrial look dominates the look of this shop house. I would love to have the exposed brick walls and raw concrete flooring in my future house. Throw in a turntable and a DJ and we'll party all night long. Indie and Alternative fans would feel at home in the music retail area that features CDs and vinyls curated by resident DJ Darkwing. Feel like grooving to the beats? Head on upstairs to the bar/dance floor where you can lose yourself to the music.

Meat lovers would dig the char-grilled meats. This carnivore did! The Signature Broadcast St.Louis Style Ribs (S$30) comes in a variety of flavors that coats the nice marbled flesh. We tried the Tamarind with Maple Syrup (Sweet) and the Miso and Black Pepper (Savory). Loved the the former, wasn't impressed with the latter. We could hardly taste the miso or the black pepper.

The nicely glazed meat in dark Maple and Tamarind elixir.

Each slab feeds 2 nicely, leaving you some space for sides and desserts. Definitely overwhelming for 1 puny stomach like mine.

I thought the Vegemite Lamb Rack (S$38) to be more flavorful than the Chermoula Sirloin Steak but there were mixed reviews from around the table. The downside to the dish is that there is a lot of fat on the meat, which is indistinguishable from the meat till you chow down on it. Some said that it was little gamey but i didn't detect that.

I'm not a fan of their sides. The Crack and Cheese with truffle (S$16) was bland and tasteless. The truffle only gave it an oily aroma without any flavor. The lack of moisture and inability to tantalize the taste buds is its downfall.

The Grilled Mushroom and Romaine salad (S$12) was again on the bland spectrum. Mushrooms were juicy and nicely grilled but lacked that oomph.

The Smokey Fries with lime ketchup was just fries with a hint of smoke? Definitely not a side dish I would order but I guess my dining companions thought it would be special.

The Chicken and Prawn sliders were drowned in the the Coriander mayo which had a very cool taste. Sure didn't feel like there were prawns in this one or perhaps it was overpowered by all the sauce.

I liked the Broadcast Buffalo Wings though. It's nothing to scream about even though Habanero is supposed to be really piquant. It tasted more like the plain 'ol BBQ sauce instead but i love the crispy and lightly spiced batter. Fried food is always awesome.

The Ozeki Sparkling Peach and Jelly sake was a delightful dessert more than a drink. I couldn't didn't taste the sake in fact but I do like the refreshing jelly which was konjyaku like. May not be worth the price though. I believe it's between $12-16. We also had some pear crumble cake which was mediocre.