Go Green

A little apprehensive where the chickens are coming from so best to go for a full vegetable burger .

I asked for a deconstructed burger so that the buns will not be soggy.

Missing the mango chutney (wasn’t even told they were out of it - had to ask for it ).

Pleasant burger patty of chickpeas , mixed vegetables and a light cumin spice.

A little steep for the portions .

Nice variant from the usual rice 🍚- I actually like this combination with springy noodles better .

Ask for a dollop of homemade chilli 🌶 which is super fiery .

Supposed to be a healthy homemade dish but felt a little thirsty after the meal - hopefully no msg ? ?

I seldom would pose such a “ pretty” composition of food photo -

But just to show my displeasure this time maybe .

I asked for the egg to be replaced with vegetables ( just like what I did at my previous order ) and was told this time by a new stall attendant that - “ only 2 vegetable types and just a small sample portion “ .

When the onsen egg costs 1.20 on the alarcarte menu , I don’t see how “ more expensive “ were the vegetables than the egg . In fact , the vegetables should be cheaper - sorry they are not using organic vegetables here like what some other shops do .

So the stall owners were debating amongst themselves while I stood there watching .

Just give me my noodles , will you ?

Andaz hotel is a perfect place for a slow lunch and what better than a salad buffet lunch.

While most would jump at filling their bowls with veggies - my lunch style today was much more focused on the homemade velvety mushroom soup and sourdough bread ( from tbb) matched with in house Pesto and baba Ganoush ( eggplant hummus ).

Ice tea is also available at the buffet counter and I appreciate that the ice tea is unsweetened and comes with a side of fragrant homemade Pandan syrup .

The selection at the salad bar is not great but the service is efficient and accommodating .

My only issue was that while i wanted to have a quiet lunch , the sound of the ham slicer ( which sounds very much like the stapling of papers together and reminds you almost like you were in the office ) was extremely disturbing and this continued throughout my whole lunch - until I had no choice but to flag it out to the service staff .

There is always a better time to slice / pre - slice the ham right ? And not when you are trying to hold a conversation with a friend or business associates or just looking for a quiet place to lunch .

At 20 dollars before gst and taxes , this was by no means cheap (given the very limited spread ) but at least the really good sourdough bread and homemade soup made up for it.

Weekends are made of these....

How about a curry noodle with homemade curry paste in a rich curry broth topped with a generous amount of sweet organic vegetables .

Not for the faint hearted ....

TOP off with a free range hard egg for an extra creaminess and you are ready to roll... ....

One of the better ( or “ Gao” lei Cha soups I have tried .. with a very thick like consistency - not sure if starch or glutinous rice was added to blend the soup .
The grounded sesame flavour shone brightly and was delightful .

The vegetables were also crisp and green and not greasy.

Ask for their homemade chilli because that is a star on its own as well .

For lei Cha enthusiasts , before you get disappointed , this dish is only available on Wednesdays .

My only issue is the vibes of fortune centre - you won’t go there for no reason .

If you are into everything and anything organic , Scoop Wholefoods from Australia has finally hit the shores of Singapore.

They have a nice range of freshly in store grounded but butters (done right in front of you ), kombuchas, organic nuts , organic flour , legumes and granolas ( many of which are so interestingly flavoured - think Tumeric buckwheat buckinis 😁😁) .

Not exactly competitive in pricing but for the zero waste effort they are trying to promote - bring your own containers - I think it is a worthy effort and movement to support .

It would be nice if the store has an extension of a cafe to showcase their food selection 😊 hopefully that’s in the Pipeline.

Do you see what I see ?

Hidden in a quiet corner of oasia hotel is slow bakes - a beautiful bakery cafe that is affiliated with real food . The previous real food situated at the basement of Square 2 at Novena has moved to be amalgamated with slow bakes .

A beautiful and Instagram worthy cafe where you choose to have homemade sourdough breads and vegan pastries With organic coffee or choose to have a full fledge lunch of organic salads , full day breakfast , soups , their signature vegan dumpling noodles or their alluring hand stretched sourdough pizzas .

The mushroom pizza has an incredibly thin base with a nice puffed up side crust . Seemingly simple ingredients of mushrooms , garlic olive oil and vegan cheese but such an explosion of flavours ! Baked in an oven fired up by wooden chafts - how better than to prepare a pizza .

I like how the pizza crust has such a good sourdough tang. This makes this pizza not only yummy but also nutritious and easier for digestion .

The other house favourites are the patate pizza and the roasted ( vegan ) peppers pizza .

Perfect smoothie

A perfect drink for this sweltering heat wave ....

Creamy smooth avacado with soy and a touch of coconut oil .

Very nourishing for the tummy , heart and soul.

What a mouthful .....

Here’s a closer snap of my thunder tea kolo Mee .
Other than the fact that it’s made mainly with organic greens , read my previous review on what it deserves 10/10 .

Best thunder tea 🍵

Unknown to many, there is a food court at the basement of raffles medical at Bugis called heritage food street . A pretty catchy name but nothing too “ heritage “ about the stalls within except for newly opened thunder tree .

I usually have my thunder tea the traditional way and that’s with rice but I was craving for noodles and specifically kolo Mee today . So i am extremely Glad to learn about the existence of this stall from a new friend .

I have heard about thunder tree at the food court at people’s park centre and I was just there the other day but I really didn’t like the vibes of the food court so this new found place at Bugis is perfect.

Everything about the thunder tea kolo Mee is done so right . Generous amounts of mostly organic vegetables ( since the operators own firefly farm ) and a QQ kolo Mee that was well cooked and well seasoned .

The soup was the highlight. More than 10 to 12 ingredients are painfully grounded into paste to make this soup.

The boss is so lovely to speak to - she has such a big heart to share about the goodness of thunder tea and how painstakingly they choose to do things the hard way so that the most nutritious and authentic thunder tea rice can be offered to her customers.

I love the combination of the crisp chopped up greens with the crunchy peanuts and the moist beancurd cubes and beans. After taking a taste of the individual components , I tossed the condiments into the kolo Mee - and i must say that I really enjoyed this new rendition of thunder tea noodles as compared to thunder tea rice .

You take a sip of the soup , then a mouthful of the noodles then a sip of the soup then a mouthful of the noodles ....

Don’t forget to ask for a bit of their homemade fire-y chilli - it just goes so well with the noodles .

For lovers of pesto pasta , look no further ....
The best pesto pasta goes to real food’s ....

Unlike most places that either use bottled , ready made pestos or use their pesto sparingly in their pesto pasta , real food’s version is the unadulterated “ real food “ .

The pesto is made from scratch in house with the highest quality produce and made in small batches to ensure maximum freshness.

Just from the colour of the dish - you can see how “ drenched” the pasta is in the homemade pesto . The addition of crumbed potatoes help the pesto stick better to the pasta and imparts an additional level of creaminess to the pasta .

With the option of 2 types of pesto ( with garlic and without ), this gives even the strictest of all vegetarians / those who can’t take or dislike garlic a chance to try pesto since most are made with the addition of garlic .

Paired with sweet grilled cucumbers and topped with feta cheese , this dish is indeed a winner .

Try and you will know what I mean ....

For those of you who are new to pesto , you may find it a little “green “ at first “ taste” because pesto is typically eaten raw - but trust me - the more you chomp on it , the more it grows on you like an addiction 🤪....

Green goodness.