The breakfast getaway

Breakfast with great company at Wild Honey.
This photo is taken using Canon IXUS 1000HS. Using the Miniatures program.

One of my good friends, Mystic, generously and kindly planned a breakfast getaway to celebrate my upcoming birthday. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and I was hoping to spend the getaway at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I was grateful to Mystic who so graciously obliged.

Our initial plan was to have breakfast at Halia Restaurant which is located within the Singapore Botanic Gardens. However, an unexpected downpour led us to change our plans. We ended up at Wild Honey. This place serves breakfast all-day long. I like the idea that I could have breakfast any time I like!

The staff told us that Wild Honey's signature dishes are "European" and "Tunisian". My friend and I gladly went along with the flow and ordered the restaurant's signature dishes.

"European". This photo was taken by my friend using Canon IXUS 1000HS.

I ordered a "European" set. This is "Wild Honey's version of Eggs Benedict". Made up of "two perfectly poached eggs, sauteed mushrooms and prosciutto on toasted homemade brioche and hollandaise sauce", it was a visually delightful breakfast to savour. The prosciutto, which is dry-cured ham, was too salty for my taste-buds. I was more impressed that my friend could tell that it was dry-cured ham. I like my choice of breakfast despite it being too salty. Afterall, I could tell that the chef has prepared this breakfast set with much love and pride. This set costs $18 each.

"Tunisian". This photo was taken using Canon IXUS 1000HS.

My friend ordered a "Tunisian" set. This is a sizzling pan comprising "red pepper, onion and tomato concise (stew) studded with sliced chorizo sausage and crowned with two fried eggs". My friend gave me a portion of her breakfast to sample and I dare say that I fell immediately in love with the tomato concise and this sizzling Tunisian breakfast. It was so good that I felt that I had to figure of more about Tunisia. I learnt that it is the northernmost country in Africa. This set costs $18 each.

Nature Remedy. This photo was taken using a Canon IXUS 1000 HS.

To complete the meal, we each sipped a cup of delightful "Nature Remedy". While enjoying our meal, I took the chance to practise using the Canon IXUS 1000 HS that I had won from the "100 Things that make Sydney so... Sydney" contest, which is a part of the "We Heart Sydney" campaign. While I still needed time to get used to using the camera, it actually took quite pretty photos of the food when I used the "Miniature" program mode. The photos turned out to be way more beautiful than those that I had taken at Wild Honey in Nov 2010 using a Kodak digital camera. So it seems that I would have to re-evaluate my preferences for Kodak digital camera which anyway is no longer in production.

Whatever it is, I hope you have enjoyed the visual treats from my breakfast getaway with one of my good friends. Wonderful friends are like precious gems to be treasured and celebrated.

Thank you Mystic!

****
Wild Honey
http://www.wildhoney.com.sg
Mandarin Gallery
333 Orchard road
#03-02
Singapore 238867

Telephone (65) 6235 3900

Opening hours
Weekdays 9am to 10.30pm
Weekends 8am to 10.30pm

Breakfast at Wild Honey

Technically, the title of this post should be "Lunch at Wild Honey". The breakfast lover in me however would prefer "Breakfast at Wild Honey" because Wild Honey serves breakfast all day long, and more importantly, it has a wide selection of breakfast dishes inspired by various cultures in the world.

It was my great honour and privilege to have my good friend, Mystic, to celebrate her birthday with me at Wild Honey. Wild Honey does not entertain reservation. We had to wait for about one hour before it was our turn to enjoy our treats to 'breakfast'. Thank goodness we need not have to wait in the queue. We could leave our names and contact details behind. Once it is our turn, we would get a call from Wild Honey. With this arrangement, we browsed about Mandarin Gallery.

When it was our turn, I felt pretty spoilt for choice. I ordered the Mexican breakfast while my friend ordered the Canadian breakfast. We also ordered the "natural remedy" drink which we were told was made up of royal honey boiled with cinnamon.

The food was good. The company was great of course. I like the ambiance, the generous serving of delicious breakfast and the fact that this place serves breakfast food all day long. I shall try other breakfast set when I next visit Wild Honey.

Last but not the least, many thanks to Mystic for her unexpected gifts.

***
Wild Honey
http://www.wildhoney.com.sg
#03-02 Mandarin Gallery
Orchard Road
Singapore
Tel: 6235 3900

At the Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant with Mystic

One of my dear friends, Mystic, has superb ideas. We had planned to visit Resort World Sentosa on 25 Apr 2010. On our way to the island of Sentosa, Mystic proposed for brunch at the Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant.

The service at the Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant was excellent. The waitresses were very attentive and thoughtful. They readily served us with tea when our cups were not full.

We ordered the congee with century egg and lean meat, stir-fried baby kailan with garlic, and some dim sum. The food that we ordered was average. Perhaps we did not order any of the restaurant's signature dishes? Anyway, I was pretty impressed with Mystic that she can recognise and even name the chef of the restaurant. I can see her love for good food.

The restaurant revolves! The person who came up with the vision and idea of a revolving restaurant is a genius, I think. Having said so, building and maintaining a revolving restaurant is probably not an inexpensive project. The restaurant lent us a view of the island of Sentosa, the nearby Keppel Harbour, Mount Faber and the nearby hills, and a bit of the city's landscape. It was my first time at the restaurant, and it was a novel experience to enjoy a meal in a revolving restaurant.

More importantly, I thank Mystic for her company and her treat to the meal at the restaurant. These alone has made the trip to the restaurant a memorable and treasured one.

Back at home, I found some information about Prima Limited. There is a lot we can learn from a company like Prima Limited that has evolved over the years from a humble flour mill to a company that is involved in a variety of diverse business sectors.

For readers who are interested to know about the cost of the food at this restaurant, I think this is a bit on the higher than average side. While the dim sum and dessert are generally moderately priced, the baby kailan seems to cost at least $20 for a small serving. While the service is excellent, it is not a factor that will draw me for another visit to the restaurant. Perhaps the factor that really draws people to visit the Revolving Restaurant is the fact that the restaurant revolves and ofers its guest a good paranomic view of the nearby sceneries.

Well, our trip to the Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant did save the day. Both Mystic and I went to Sentosa after our meal. Somehow, both of us prefer our visit to Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant to our trip to Sentosa. Well, both of us miss the Sentosa island that we had visited about half a decade ago.

***

Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant
(百龄麦旋转酒楼)
201 Keppel Road
Level 9 Prima Tower
Tel: 6272 8822

One of my favourite places for breakfast

This morning, I met one of my good friends, Mystic, for breakfast. We had breakfast at Dome Singapore Art Museum.

I like the very fact that this cafe serves breakfast, every morning. More importantly, it is situated just next to the Singapore Art Museum. This means that if I could conveniently treat myself to visual treats after a lovely serving of breakfast.

If you are like me and find that the sounds of church bells have calming effects, you will be treated several different kinds of church bells if you were to be seated at the outdoor seating area of Dome Singapore Art Museum. At least that was my experience when I was there having breakfast this morning. If one is lucky, one can also hear the soothing voices from church choirs singing in a distance. Then if I pay attention, I could hear the gentle voice of the breeze caressing the leaves of the nearby trees. An auditory treat.

For breakfast, I ordered the Muesli, Fresh Fruit, Honey & Yoghurt. It was a healthy choice and I was happy with it. The serving is generous, and I felt pretty satisfied after having it. I could have been so relaxed that I didn't even think of taking photographs of the food.

Many thanks to Mystic for her kind company over breakfast. She helped gave me some invaluable inputs and much listening ear. I hope she may find relief and peace.

Summing up, if you like visual arts and love breakfast,  Dome Singapore Art Museum is one place to consider.

****


Dôme Singapore Art Museum
71 Bras Basah Road
#01-01 Singapore Art Museum
Singapore 189555
Tel : 6339 0792 / Fax : 6339 0287
8.30am to 10.30pm (Sun - Thurs & PH)
8.30am to 11pm (Fri, Sat & Eve of PH)

Breakfast with Mystic, Part 2

Friends open us to new experiences and learning opportunities. On 18 Oct 2009, about three months after my last breakfast with Mystic, Mystic drove me to Dempsey Hill for breakfast together. I went along with the flow and followed her suggestions to try out the breakfast at Jones the Grocer.

We ordered the English Breakfast Set and the pancakes. I can't remember the full names of the dishes. Whatever it is, I was delighted by the tall ceilings at Jones the Grocer. The outlet is located in a pre-war building. The building used to be part of a former British army barracks.

The concept behind Jones the Grocer is interesting. The cafe operates in the same premise as the grocery. I later found out that the use of the long tables at Jones the Grocer was intended to create a sense of community. Many of the ingredients used in the food served at the cafe are also available for purchase at the grocery.

The English breakfast set was good enough. However, I have been watching my diet to minimise my intake of pork and red-meat. As such, it is unlikely that I would go back to Jones the Grocer for more English breakfast set. The eggs and the tomato were good. I find the rest of the items to be average. Maybe it was because I just do not have an appetite for red-meat nowadays?

The pancakes tasted good and they have a nice puffy texture. I find it a little too sweet for my liking yet it was worth to try it at least once.

Whatever the food may be, it was the company of good friends that matter most at the end of the day. Many thanks to Mystic for having breakfast with me at Jones the Grocer.

Jones the Grocer
Location: Blk 9 #01–12
Dempsey Road
Open: Mon 9:30am - 6:00pm
Tue - Fri 9:30am - 11:00pm
Sat - Sun 9:00am - 11:00pm
Tel: (65) 6476 1512
URL: www.jonesthegrocer.com

Breakfast with Mystic

Starbucks Breakfast Platter.

Friends can inspire!

This morning, one of my good friends, Mystic and I met for a breakfast to chill out. I suggested to have breakfast at Starbucks Coffee since I have never tried having breakfast there. Mystic so kindly obliged.

Mystic, I can say has a passion for food. She has her way to describe the taste of food. One thing I keep learning from her is her good eye for taking photographs of food. Obviously, the photos in this post were taken by yours truly. Mystic did play a part to suggest that I remove the cutlery but otherwise, if the photos turned out uninteresting, it is because I have yet to master the art of taking photographs of food from my dear friend, Mystic.

Breakfast with Mystic was spent catching up, and learning to enjoy the moments. During our breakfast meeting, yours truly was inspired by Mystic's passion for food to write a post specially dedicated to her. After discussing with Mystic my ideas, we decided to call this post "Breakfast with Mystic". Here, I proudly announce the publication of the blog-post titled "Breakfast with Mystic". Mystic shall be my secret advisor for this post. However, if you do not like what was written, please come after the writer, i.e. yours truly. Whatever it is, lighten up when you read this post. Afterall, breakfast is intended to be a time to refresh and rejuvenate for the day!

For this post, I shall write about the new breakfast items at Starbucks Coffee. While we were queueing for the food, the Strawberry Yogurt Parfait from the Breakfast menu caught Mystic's eyes. Out of curiosity, I went online to search for the definition of "parfait". I found this:

1. a dessert made of rich cream, eggs, syrup, etc. frozen together and served in a tall, slender, short-stemmed glass
2. a dessert of layers of ice cream, crushed fruit, etc. in such a glass

(Source: http://www.yourdictionary.com/parfait)

Spinach-Egg Frittata, Turkey Bacon and Cheese.

Other than having learnt a new word today, I managed to have a good time reviewing our breakfast with Mystic. Please remember that this review is written by yours truly who decided that I would spend breakfast with Mystic in a light-hearted mood.

Mystic ordered the Spinach-Egg Frittata, Turkey Bacon and Cheese. This costs $5.90 with a cup of tea of one's choice. Mystic said that the price of the breakfast from Starbucks is comparable to Mac Donalds, and the Frittata is better than the breakfast item from MacDonalds. She enjoyed the fact that the egg contained spinach and that there was tomato in the Frittata. She ordered a cup of wild sweet orange tea to go with the Frittata and she said it is a good complement with the Frittata.

Mystic's suggestion for anyone who orders the Frittata is to request to have it cut into half. Firstly, that would allow sharing if one finds the portion to much for one person. Secondly, it will allow the Frittata to be more manageable to be consumed.

As for myself, I ordered the Starbucks Breakfast Platter. For $5.90 as well, it came with a cup of tea of my choice. I chose the Berryblossom white tea. It has a tinge of berry flavour and is a refreshing change from my usual choice of chamomile tea.

The platter consists of grapes, banana, a hard-boiled egg, multi-grain bun, and a slice of walnut-raisin bread. Since we were reviewing the breakfast together, Mystic definitely was asked to try some of my order.

Mystic thinks that the walnut-raisin bread is a unique choice of bread for a breakfast menu. I like the walnut-raisin bread for I have a liking for walnut!

The multi-grain bun is good on its own. Mystic can testify to it. I like its rustic texture and taste.

On the other hand, I don't like the fact that the hard-boiled egg was cold. This is possibly a personal preference. Mystic felt that the items on Starbucks' breakfast menu do not quite fall under what she would consider "hot breakfast item". It seemed like she considers parfait, boiled eggs, breads, buns, waffles and cereals as "non-hot items".

Mystic's suggestion for Starbucks is to consider serving the egg and the fruits on separate plates from the bread and bun. I suppose cold food items (grapes) and warm food items (toasted bread) should not mix. Furthermore, non-cooked (banana) and cooked item (egg) should be separated too.

Last but not the least, if you have found this post interesting enough to read, please keep your fingers crossed that Mystic and I would meet again for breakfast, and be game enough to review our breakfast together yet again. Until then, please find delight in having breakfast with your friends and family.