Aura

It’s taken a while for me to get back to blogging. I blame work. Too many early mornings has taken its toll on me. Even eating and exploring new places has become a stretch for me. Thankfully, I was able to make it to a friend’s gathering recently and finally had the chance to check out Aura – a bit over due, but better late than never.

Aura is situated at the National Gallery and has quite a nice view of the supreme court on a clear day.

Bangkok: Gaggan

So when I told J that I was going to Bangkok, she told that I had to eat at Gaggan and my first reaction was, “Indian food? But I’m going to Thailand!” Nevertheless, she was convinced that I should try and get a reservation and if successful, I would not regret the experience. I was skeptical, and even more so since I already had a reservation at Le Du. So when I actually managed to get a late 9pm reservation at Gaggan, my immediate thought was “crap, how am I going to eat 25 courses at 9pm at night?”. J was nonplussed and just told me to “go for it.” 

Taipei: Choose me Cafe & Meals

One of my favourite features of Taiwan is the number of themed cafes that keep popping up all over the city. Each cafe strives to be different from the other, and in some way, most manage to create a distinctive feature of their own. During my latest trip to Taipei, I was really eager to visit Choose me Cafe which was rather famous for their “cartoon” cakes.

Taipei: Yong Kang Beef Noodle

If Singaporeans argue over where is the better chicken rice, I suppose Taiwanese would beg to differ with each other on whether is the better beef noodles.

Yes, we actually some a glimpse of this conversation where our Taipei based friends insisted that Yong Kang was the place to eat beef noodles. So this is a eating trip right (culture totally took a back seat here), so after our first xiao long bao lunch, we actually headed to Yong Kang beef noodles for our second lunch. 

Taipei: 红翻天生猛海鲜Hong Fan Tian Live Seafood

This was a restaurant located really near our hotel which our friends brought us to for dinner. Feels like one of those fresh seafood places we see around in Singapore, where you select which seafood you like and they cook it on the spot. Of course, the freshness is likely to be better and as we found out, the prices were very very decent as well. We rushed here (kinda) after a day of taking photos around the CKS Memorial Hall, including this rather funny shot below:

Taipei: 盛園絲瓜小籠湯包 Sheng Yuan Si Gua Xiao Long Bao

I’m so glad that when S and J brought us to eat xiao long bao, they did not bring us to din tai fung, but to another XLB place, which they said was just as good and one of their favourite places. We have din tai fung in Singapore, so I did not really fancy visiting it again, even though the flagship Taiwanese branch is super famous.

Taipei: Mume

There are Michelin star restaurants and then there is the Asia 50 Best Restaurant List. Some restaurants make it to both, if there is a Michelin guide for their country, but in others where Michelin has yet to officially issue a guidebook, the Asia 50 Best Restaurant List is another alternative when looking for fine dining options in a particular country.

Candlenut

So before Malcolm Lee became all Michelin fame famous, I had the opportunity to visit his restaurant when he first opened at Cantonment Road. Good wholesome Peranakan food was what he was known for. I remember having good impressions of his cooking, very tasty, wholesome, “home cooked” food.

Now that his cooking has been recognized by the Michelin inspectors, it’s no surprise that he has since packed up and moved to more lavish digs at Dempsey and his prices have certainly increased as well. However, I trusted that the quality of the cooking would still remain and when J suggested visiting, I was all for it. 

Super Simple

I’ve discovered a new takeaway lunch place and it’s conveniently located near China Square, which is perfect whenever I attend lunch time services in town. The concept is really similar to the likes of the Daily Cut and Wafuken. Basically, you pick your protein, sides and accompanying sauce. While perhaps not having as much variety as Daily Cut, I’e come to appreciate the generous portions and the quick efficiency of service at Super Simple.

Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant

So in my utterly mundane life of eat, sleep, work, repeat, I’ve come to realise that I do appreciate a nice chillax breakfast outing. Polished wooden tables, bright natural sunlight streaming through the windows, this is exactly what Clinton Street Baking Co. & Restaurant is.