#50: Happy Birthday December Babies. Buffet Lunch at Carousel, Royal Plaza Hotel on Scotts Road

My dad's birthday and mine fall just 3 days apart

so each year we just sort of combine it into a single celebration

to me, effort is definitely more valuable than monetary means anytime

especially when it comes to birthday presents for your loved ones

to thank my dad for all the delicious meals he cooked for me each weekend I'm home from school

I too decided to cook him something nice on his birthday 

TADAA

sort of burnt the first toast TOTALLY BLACK #fail

but the 2nd one turned perfect and crunchy!

used multi-grain bread, made 2 heart cutouts and cracked an egg to fill it up

with chopped tomatoes, ham and sauteed mushrooms with onions as accompaniment

trying to make it sound all fancy. but my dad said it was tasty nevertheless

hopefully he's being honest 

made a beef stew that's been on the stove for 3 hours

a really soupy stew though

added paprika which gave it an amazing sourish sweet tangy taste

lots of onions and carrots for the sweetness

white wine and beef stock to get the umami-mmm

and used topside of beef because it is really lean

imho, it was really delicious and healthy at the same time 

guilt-less pleasures

there was steamed crab specially flown from shanghai!

it was still alive and kicking when it arrived

but then it went into the steamer soon after oops sorry

ended this birthday week with a splendid meal at Carousel

one of the best buffet restaurants, located at Royal Plaza Hotel on Scotts Road

this place is totally hard to get seats so please reserve beforehand on their website WEEKS ahead

I reserved 2 months prior to this weekend. talk about kiasu-ness!

you can reserve at www.carouselbuffet.com.sg

it was truly worth the wait! food was amazing and the service too!

plates were cleared and drinks refilled efficiently

this is what I came for..

WHOLE BAKED SALMON. lovessssssssss

okay not forgetting this as well..

THICK SASHIMI GOODNESS. 

Carousel serves a wide variety of international cuisine

Japanese, Teppanyaki, Mediterranean, Indian curries, Local delicacies

ohhhh and their dessert counter!!

there was 3 chocolate fondues, milk chocolate, strawberry and green-tea flavours

and lots of pretty cakes too for the sweet lovers 

you can also check our their menu to prep yourself -> Menu-Description

some shots from that day.

There was quite a few birthday celebrations going around

and the restaurant gave complimentary birthday cupcakes to everyone 

they even played a song and the staff stood in a row and danced!! :0

wow now that's called customer-dedication

It was truly an enjoyable meal for me and my family :)

Thank you Carousel Restaurant for the sponsored treat!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all the December babies!

may every year be better than the last.

L.O.L, Kylie Y.

#42 Lunch at Harbour Cafe @ Trader's Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru

Short getaway to JB on Sunday with the Zhangs 

(a family with very close ties to mine, since my grandma's generation)

Purpose for this trip is to celebrate the beginning of a new phase in university

for eldest daughters of both families

me & keer - i knew her since she was a baby (she's 1 year younger)
one of the most hardworking girl I know, studied really hard
and graduated from Hwa Chong with straight As for A levels
She's currently going to continue pursuing her dream, doing Architecture at SUTD
-uncle zhang smiling with glee at the back- 

Harbour Cafe was having a promotion in the month of June

MYR45++ per pax (roughly SGD 20) for its lunch buffet

as it's Traders Hotel's first month of operations

Wide variety of yummy cold salads

Portobello Mushrooms, Grilled Peppers, Pumpkin, Feta Cheese, Chicken Ceasar etc.

The Thai Beehoon Salad was extremely well-received at the table

Fresh cold seafood - plump mussels & sweet meaty flower crabs

There was also a Japanese section at the side, serving white tuna as sashimi and various sushi

although I really hoped there was salmon :(

Maybe because it was lunch so.... but still I enjoyed the seafood & white tuna ^^

I must say that the indian food section is the best

Awesome savoury curries, naans and the TANDOORI CHICKEN IS YUMZ

really tender and sweet

Roasted Chicken

Dim Sum Section

Paus, har gaos, siew mais etc.

there's also a laksa/yong tau foo & asian corner right next to it

Mad love for this chocolate fondue machine

just look at the absolutely gorgeous flowing streams of white and dark chocolate

the dessert corner offered a wide selection of cakes, kuehs, ice cream

The staff at the restaurant were really friendly too

did not chase us off when the buffet ended at 2.30pm 

& thus we continued to stay in our private room, chatting till 4 

Much thanks to the parents from both families for giving us such a grand celebratory meal

and the big fat ang bao (奖学金）too :D

It was an enjoyable afternoon filled with laughter, dumb jokes, serious talks

spent with the family & Zhangs (we're really like 1 big family, just not related by blood)

How was your June? 

July, be kind.

#26: MunchDiary - Mushroom Pot, Steamboat Buffet

Had a steamboat buffet quite some time ago for lunch

The Mushroom Pot @ Kallang Stadium

mhmm this place serves beef tripe and fresh fish slices! kudos :D

Along with the free-flow ingredients, each table is also allowed to pick 5 appetizers/mains

I Picked: Beancurd Mushroom Roll (2 of this^^), House Special Beef, 

Mushroom with Thai Spices and Spinach Egg Roll 

all the dishes served were pretty good! 

Various Steamboat Ingredients:

Beef tripe! aka beef stomach. I LOVE IT.
 low in fat, high in protein - healthy choice! :)
quite difficult to find it in local supermarkets but it's pretty common in Hong Kong dishes
especially dim sum, where beef tripe is braised 

Lean beef slices, pork liver

Fresh fish slices. awesomeeee

They also offer handmade fishballs and yong tau foo items with their handmade chicken/pork pastes

I especially love their yong tau foo items!!

different from the usual foodcourt fare 

(tend to have 'bleh' processed fish fillings that probably more other stuff like flour than fish)

There are also lots of vegetables, meat, seafood, carbs and of course, MUSHROOMS to choose from!

We had the usual Wild Mushroom Soup as the base for the steamboat

and wow the soup is really tasty!

The restaurant was relatively empty on a weekend lunch.

Though the food they served was fresh in my opinion

Maybe it will be more packed in the evening? Hmm...

Do come down for a nice healthy steamboat and give it a try!

Especially comforting since it's been raining everyday as of late. :)

Price: $24.90 ++ per pax for Weekend Lunch buffet

Their website: http://www.mushroompot.com

Stadium Outlet:
2 Stadium Walk
#01-02 Singapore Indoor 
Stadium (Carpark E)
Singapore 397691
Tel: 6342 3320

Orchard Point Outlet:OG Orchard Point, Level 4
160 Orchard Road
Singapore 238842
Tel: 6733 9910

#22: My Merrilicious Xmas 2012 - Xmas Buffet @ Spice Brasserie, Parkroyal Hotel

The Festive Season (xmas+ new year's) is over! boohoo

Back to reality with internship and school...

but oh wells fret not, CNY is around the corner!

Looking forward to the long weekend ~

Supermarkets have already started to sell CNY goodies

it's the time of the year for spring cleaning, shopping, stocking up food around the house

visiting friends, families whom you can't find time to meet the other times of the year

 and most importantly, ahem, $$ collecting for the unmarried 

The office is also giving out red packets to the staff...

AngPaos for the interns too maybe? ^^

.

Anyway I hope everyone had a jolly festive season!

because I did!

my sister and Jackie dolled up our lil xmas tree 

(which is apparently balding)

kudos to them, the tree was so pretty

really added on the festive mood around the house

 

apparently my 1st time wrapping presents. room for improvement but A for effort? ;)

Spent Xmas Day with my lovely family! 

with the exception of my mom who is abroad

dad with the shirt & shorts I got him for xmas ^^

Had a festive lunch buffet nearby at Parkroyal Hotel @ Kitchener Road

it was priced at $50++ per pax

The restuarant'a name is Spice Brasserie

mhmmm the buffet was 12-4pm and oh gosh was I stuffed...

adorable gingerbread house at the entrance! 

Spice Brasserie's Japanese Section is right next to the entrance

Sashimi selections are chilled and cut on the spot upon order

the inconvenience to order instead of just grabbing is totally forgiveable

because the sashimi was so fresh...

variety provided from left to right:

maguro(tuna), sword fish, salmon, octopus, mackerel and tamago (sweet jap egg)

Festive Offerings

Hot Dishes 

personal favs: assorted veg in almond butter (left) & an unagi dish! (right) sweet and savoury yum

personal fav: tomato & seafood stew (centre)

Singapore Chili Crab

personal fav: Beef Ragout - tenderlicious!!!

Cold Selections

chilled soba noodles, deli meats, thai papaya salad, smoked salmon (<3)

Congee and Claypots

personal fav: braised pig trotters *-*

my fav always: nyonya chap chye!! on the look for good peranakan food in SG, most are quite costly D:

Made-to-order Counter

Desserts

parfaits, cocktail and fruit kebabs to dip in your own melted chocolate pot! one for each table

yay fruits for this girl!!!

My Harvests

too fresh, too good, touched to tears T^T

this was good! stir fry veg from the live counter

another round of sashimi, specially asked for more this time to make up for the time spent queuing for my turn x)

yumyum, watched a movie with my family after that, CZ12

jackie chan's last action movie or something I heard?

awesome movie, awesome actor

really respect the hardwork and sacrifices he put into each role

since it's pretty rare for an actor to do his own stunts nowadays..

I've come to the end of my merry yummilicious xmas feast post :P

I eat really simple most of the week so hey sometimes gotta enjoy yeah?

hehe kylie here wishing everyone an early HAPPY CNY 

wahahaha thanks for reading my post!

take care all ~ :)