The last time I saw something similar was for Old Chang Kee’s “Expecting Twins” campaign in a bid to promote their 2 new flavour curry puffs – sardines and pepper chicken. Recently on tv, something that really attracted me was this ad from Soy Joy’s “So Joyful Together” ad….

The illustrated ad features a soy bean and a strawberry, in the labour ward and the Mr Soy was all panicking while Mrs Strawberry-Soy was in labour. After much hardwork, the doctor came out and said: “Congratulations! It’s a Bar!” This is funny! It caught me out of expectation and immediately turned my head to notice the commercial. Bring together soy bean and strawberry and it will “give birth” to a soy bar with strawberry. Excellent! Below is the commerical if you have missed it on TV.

Ever since getting a flyer at VivoCity, I have been wanting to go to this “Authentic French Cafe & Restuarant”, so it claimed, but as usual, after the opposition wins, I have not had the chance to step in. I did, today! Yeah!!! FRE(N)SH is a simple yet cosy cafe, located on the 1st level of VivoCity, alongside other restuarants such as Carnivore, Big Boss, Hottie Hottie. The cafe can seat up to about 25 pax or so. Its menu is uncluttered but intriguing…cos the names all sound so nice…tartine, quiche and…oh…desserts!!!! hahaha! And they serve some wine and champagne by the glass or bottle too and also, they do catering services as well!

I think these days to get a decent french bite with proper proportion and nice desserts, I am very sure you won’t get it at the price of $15! If you do, please drop me a line! FRE(N)SH offers a meal package at ANYTIME of the day at ONLY $15 for 1 main + 1 drink + 1 dessert. Isn’t that a good offer?! And we are not talking about small portions or half baked desserts. While I was still thinking that Tartine (which is bread) may not be able to fill me, I was already selecting the desserts. And I was wrong…The FRE(N)SH Chicken Tartine that I ordered came in good portion.

I couldn’t resist the temptation of the last creme brulee on the shelf, only to realise that was only a sample, and the chef had the FRESHLY MADE DAILY ones stored in the fridge, and so even before my main course arrived, I was savouring 50% of my dessert (I still had a tiramisu after my main). Hahaha.

I would have thought that they will simply give me the creme brulee on a small dessert plate. They did not. My creme brulee came on a big plate with flour sprinklings on the plate and the stenciled FRE(N)SH using cocoa powder. I mean, that’s a happy plate. It just makes me feel important and nice to see that such thought has been given to the dessert that cost me $4.70 and which can be conveniently served on just a plate. That said, the creme brulee was simplement fantastique!!! Smooth, not too sweet, very flavourful. I packed 2 home, 1 supposingly intended for my mum…but who knows?!

Their Tartines which I was a total stranger to was also merveilleux! The Chicken Tartine was on toasted bread with mustard and sauteed chicken with potatoes. I couln’t resist the Salmon with Cream Cheese Tartine as well! I am so glad my friend was there and we shared 2 Tartines! So I had the best of both worlds. For a not-so-veggie lover like me, I kinda think their salad looks good!

Apart from the food, of course, the service plays a big part! I swear it’s not the french chef that I got swooned over by! But great service works wonder. When your plate of food is smiling at you, why not the service staff as well? That will make the whole dining experience an unforgettable one, just like this one….“A Smile A Day, Keeps The Frowns Away?”

ON THE WHOLE

Accessbility: **** It’s in VivoCity!!!
Ambience: *** Simple and cosy, don’t expect fancy sofas or posh restuarant setup.
F&B: **** For what it’s worth, it’s definitely good! Will appreciate more varities though.
Pricing: **** For the serving portion and its taste and everything, need I say more?
Service: **** Friendly, smiley, nice!

Sometime ago, at a friend’s pot-luck BBQ birthday party, I made some meat skewers. I love food and I love making them. The results were good! The Zuchini, cherry tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, not forgetting the meat taste really succulent and nice after BBQ-ing them. So for friends who are up for a BBQ, try this simple meat skewers yourself.

Main Ingredients Needed:

• Meat – Hot Dog, Chicken, Beef, Mutton (these taste especially nice)
• Seafood – Fish Chunks, Prawns (easiest to handle)
• Tomato, Zuchini, Cucumber, Peppercorn, Portobello Mushrooms, Carrot, Celery, Pineapple, etc

TIP: For fruits and vegetables, try to get something that will be able to withstand the heat on the outside so that it will be able to retain the juices inside them while BBQ-ing.

Marination Ingredients Needed:

• Salt, White and Black Pepper, Oyster Sauce, Butter, Chilli Sauce
• Cooking Wine (not necessary but will be great if you have it)
• Parsley (must have if you would like to have great tasting meat. You may like to get peppermint for mutton)

Other Materials Needed:

• Skewers

TIP: Soak your skewer in water for at least half an hour or more so that it doesn’t get burnt during BBQ. Also, use the longer kind of skewer, easier for you to BBQ. Use double skewers to secure your food so that they don’t spin around.

Directions:

1. Cut up the meat into sizeable pieces.
2. Marinate them according to the flavours that you would like. The ones I had are:
• Chilli Chicken
• Black Pepper Beef
• Parsley Beef
• Prawn-Wrapped-Bacon-with-Cheese-spread *Personal NEW Innovation*
3. Do allow at least an hour or so for the marination to be fully absorbed.
4. In the marination, remember to include butter so that it will be less of a hassle when you try to butter them up during BBQ and the butter will also make the meat more flavourful.
5. Skew them up. Remember to skew up food that requires about the same time to cook together.
6. And wah lah, you are ready to go!

TIP: The crucial lies in the marination of the meat. So do pay extra attention to it as in how you would like it to taste. Go by your feelings, I can never give proper measures! That’s the fun of making food!!! And also, the skewing is pretty important too. You don’t want your meat to turn out half cooked when your fruits are all burnt!

Some Other Relevant Interesting Reads:

• Cooks.com
• BarbequeAllRecipes.com
• Sunbeam’s BBQ Techniques
• Barbeque Sausages
  
• BBQ Salmon and Vegetable Skewers, Thai Style
  
• Taste: Skewers, savoury & sweet

Well, colours…what this whole blog is about – the colours of the world or rather my world. I am very sensitive to colours. They come to me just like that. In my NAFA times, my colour studies were always “A”, no fail. All the way down to clothes, project presentation, interior decoration, graphic design, colours is like air is to me. I breathe them! So I decided to flaunt them at this site especially so through my photographs.

Another thing that comes just like that to me is food. I love food! I am sure friends who know me who are reading this blog will be nodding their heads vigorously! I live to eat. Whenever a dish or something edible is presented in front of me, the next thing that comes into mind instantaneously is what is this dish made of? What things are there in it? What made up its taste and form? How is it being made? Why is it this colour? Can it be presented in a nicer manner? This is me. Some friends are annoyed when I rattled on about the details of the food where all they want is to eat it. I call this kind of instant reaction – APPRECIATION! hahahah….

Thus, finally, I will be blogging about food. Sharing with you yet another passion of mine. Stock up your tissues as the saliva will flow!!!!

P.S.: I am sure you will have your own set of “Basic Instincts” too! Care to share? 

Address:

WHERE IT IS

Tucked away in the lush greeneries, opposite the PSA building, along Lock Road, is a stretch of undiscovered chill-out venues. The one that deserves our thumbs-up got to be Little Bali. After spending a few hours there, it had left me wanting more…

To get to Little Bali, you will have to cross a very old bridge. What lies beneath it seems to be either a dilapidated railway track or a big drain that is now covered with so much thick grass and creepy crawlies. The thought of walking across this 30m bridge in the dark is kind of creepy but when you lift your head, you will know that the place got to be worth it!

LITTLE BALI’s ENVIRONMENT

From the bridge, Little Bali seems like a very old, dark mansion. What greeted me was a pleasant surprise. The entrance was like the start of a secret cave you discovered in the mountains. It was all stones and bricks with thick flora and greens all around it. The trickling of water at the entrance fountain and the smell of the local frangipani flower was absolutely hypnotising…

If you visit their website, you will realise that Little Bali looks very different in the day. Still good though but the night time Little Bali is definitely most charming! Why Little Bali? Like in the real Bali, these features are prominently spotted: wooden crafted furniture, the natural lush of greeneries, batik cloth drapes, Indonesian fare, the tranquility of the environment, carved display statues….For those who miss Bali or those who would like to get a taste of Bali, this is it.

LITTLE BALI

The whole villa is divided into 2 main areas – air-conditioned and alfresco. The ratio is approximately 1: 6. Their alfresco area is very big with visibly recognisable sectors. When I was there, the air-conditioned area was empty with 0 customers while the alfresco area – dark with dim lightings, cosy with the tea light candles, slightly breezy with the fans and absolutely rustic with all the trees and shrubs, was almost 70% full when it’s not even 9pm on a Saturday!

Another fatal attraction are the stand-alone huts! If you are with a group of friends or just prefer some privacy to do some dark deeds, you got to go for the huts!!! They are like the VIP area that is kind of isolated from the rest of the crowd, has cushions for you to sit on and a low centre table for your food. One important criteria though, you can only sit in these stand-alone huts only if your expenditure per hut exceeds SGD200. Each hut can accomodate, comfortably about 6 person. This is something that I am so in love with…

SOMETHING TO SLURP & DROOL

Food is a variety of Indonesian, Asian and Western fare. In such Balinese setting, one should be tempted to try some of their signature Indonesian dishes like the grilled prawns and satay. Enjoy your happy hour 1-for-1 alcohols if you order before 9pm. My glass of red wine only cost me $4.50!!! Their comprehensive list of alcoholic beverages consist of wines, cocktails, beer, shots, mixers…

THE X-FACTOR(s)

For most F&B joints, the X-factor lies mainly with the ambience, food or the service. The hosts and hostesses are mainly friendly. At the door before you enter the villa, make sure you check-in with the head host so that he could get someone to sit you in. About 3-4 hosts run a sector. Services are pretty prompt but more smiles will definitely be a plus!

Another fatal attraction is the Sheesha! Colourful Sheeshas greet you at the door. At about $30 for an hour, the Sheeshas come in a variety of flavours – apple, orange, vanilla, etc. A smoke, anyone?!

ON THE WHOLE

Accessbility: *** Pretty inaccessible with only a few buses serving the main road
Ambience: ***** Excellent ambience and concept, complete with the music!
F&B: *** Average apart from the signature dishes
Pricing: *** Will be good if it’s priced slightly lower for the food items
Service: *** More smiles will be greatly appreciated!

Photos by Erica and Brennan