Recipefiesta

What’s New? Swedish brand Sudio recently launches its latest wireless product, Sudio Elva. The Elva is designed with a neck band and anti-tangle cord with a magnet feature that provides a secure fit. Key Specifications: There is active noise cancelling feature, a Bluetooth Flight Adapter that lets you charge even on a plane, IPX 5(splash, rain, sweat proof), and a microphone for phone calls. In terms of charging, it is wireless charging with up to 11 hours of battery life and it takes 15 minutes for 1 hour’s worth of play time. The Bluetooth adapter allows for connection to any analog device, such as gaming consoles. It is available in two colours – black, or off-white. Availability: The Elva can be purchased on Sudio’s website, and it is currently retailing at S$199. Free home delivery worldwide, and there is a 18-month international warranty. Good news for our readers, as there is a 15% off discount code “wireless15” upon check out. Ranted by The Ranter

The Hotel Sentosa is the closest I can feel like I am overseas at the moment and hence I planned a stay at the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa after my recent stay at Raffles Singapore. The Accor property is located opposite the Sentosa Golf Club, and has a beautiful landscape with lush vegetation around the resort. I was excited to check out the resort post circuit breaker in Singapore as it was my first time staying in this Sofitel property, where I booked the Luxury Room. My check-in process was smooth and I arrived before 11am, and was surprised that my room was already ready. The hotel rooms are mainly located in two wings, Peace and Tranquil. Peace wing is located closer to the pool, The Cliff and the temporary gym and I was happy that my room was assigned to Peace wing. In terms of the property design, I like the fact that there is plenty of greenery, no high rise buildings and free roaming peacocks in the hotel’s compound. It takes a little of Singapore out of my mind, though the peacocks remind me of Capella as well. The Room I checked into the 36sqm Luxury [...]

What’s Buzzing? Do we need another Shake Shack in Singappore? Apparently so. The fourth Shack Shack is opening in Singapore on 30 September in Suntec City, with the fan-favorite ShackMeister™ menu is available exclusively at the new location from before debuting across all four Singapore Shacks on October 5th. What’s New On The Menu? Limited-Time ShackMeister™ Menu. The ShackMeister™ was first created in 2015 for a burger competition in the USA, securing the Judge’s Choice for Best Burger, and eventually appearing on the Shake Shack menu for a limited time that same year. Lending a twist to the classic ShackBurger®, the ShackMeister™ has a heaping pile of crispy fried shallots on top of 100% Angus beef, bringing a garlicky flavor and extra crunch. The shallots are marinated in custom-brewed ShackMeister™ ale, tossed in the same coating as the Chick’n Shack with flour, cayenne and paprika then crisp fried until golden. Other additions are the ShackMeister™ Dog and ShackMeister™ Fries. The ShackMeister™ trio will be available at all Shake Shack Singapore outlets from October 5th until November 16th. What’s Exclusive To Suntec? Exclusive to the new Shack is Matcha Made in Heaven, a strawberry-matcha Concrete for those with a sweet tooth. [...]

The Place I visited 藝yi by Jereme Leung for lunch during my recent stay at Raffles Hotel Singapore, one Chinese restaurant which I have been intending to check out. The entrance of the restaurant located in Raffles Arcade is grand, decorated with handcrafted white floral petals which reminds me of an art gallery. Indeed, the Chinese character 藝 literally means art, and this is part of what Singaporean Chef Jereme Leung wants to convey through his cuisine. The interior of the main dining hall is elegantly designed with neutral tones, along with a couple of private dining rooms. The Food There is no one specific style of Chinese cuisine at 藝 yì by Jereme Leung, as the inspiration stems from chef’s vast culinary experience across mainland China over the years. I was keen to visit during lunch, as lunch hour is where dim sum is served. I started with the House Specialty Black Gold Egg Custard Buns (S$9), a classic dim sum which will not go very wrong. My fellow diners like the Chicken Feet With Taro & Black Bean Sauce (S$8), though this is one classic dim sum dish I do not fancy. It is not hard to notice [...]

The Place I have not been doing much buffets the past year, and when I do, I make sure it is a worthy one. Colony restaurant, located at The Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore, is one of the best buffet restaurants in Singapore in my opinion. The grand interior design with white pearl ceiling which allows ample natural light to diffuse into the restaurant is gorgeous. The design of the whole restaurant is ingenious too, split into cosy sofa booth seats, long tables for bigger groups or intimate corner tables ideal for couples, the design has every group size in mind well. The Food The tricky situation with Covid-19 means a new way of operation for buffet restaurants, and Colony is no exception. Smaller dining groups, safe distancing, minimal human interaction, are all part of the new norm. For Colony, QR codes are placed on every table where you simply scan to view the menu. I visited the redesigned Sunday Brunch recently and what I really appreciate is the clear visuals for every featured dish in the buffet, to save diners the trouble of visualising the dish themselves, and from an operational perspective, it helps in reducing unnecessary checks with the [...]

The Place From the guys behind Upside Down Coffee Roaster, this small coffee- only cafe at Lavender opened days before circuit breaker and have restated operations again. With only counter and bench seats, Shift Syphon Bar wants you to head here just for its coffee. Located at the corner unit of the level one commercial units at Southbank condominium, you can stroll here from Lavender MRT or from the car park at the North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre. The Food Well technically there’s no food option, but an extensive menu of coffee variations and of course, Syphon-brewed coffee if you haven’t noticed this on the cafe’s name. No frills coffee stall, similar to its renamed Shift Coffee Stand at Amoy, the Upside Down Coffee Roaster group now has rebranded its retail outlets under the Shift branding. Other than single origin beans which you can find at Shift, you can find Mocha (chocolate from Korte) and Matcha (green tea from Matchaya) selections. Since it is our first visit here, went for their Flat White (S$5) and Black (S$4.50) prepared with their house blend. Rants Extremely small space with limited seating capacity. Will I Return Again? Shift Syphon Bar is [...]

Singapore – With more than 100 hotels now approved as staycation-ready by the STB per their official website, it may be info overload in terms of what to go for if you are looking to book a staycation soon. We have sussed out some of the better value deals and packages at the moment, with some of the luxury hotels offering never-seen-before rates. Good value is subjective, and we go by the extra perks that the various hotel packages are dangling during this period, and have left out other 5 star hotels which offers pretty much the same as before packages with minimal value added factors. While there are also various packages within each hotel listed below, we have picked out just one package per hotel for what we think offers the best value. Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel Raffles Hotel Singapore Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Goodwood Park Hotel The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore Sofitel Sentosa Resort & Spa Fairmont Singapore Equarius Hotel / Beach Villas, Resorts World Sentosa Ranted by The Ranter

The Place The most exciting new restaurant opening for me since circuit breaker ended in Singapore. I was excited to press the reservation button and check out Lucali BYGB located at Kallang Rivergreen Building during their first week of dine-in operations with their pizza menu ready for diners. Lucali is a famous pizza brand from Brooklyn, New York City and Singapore is its first overseas outpost, being a collaboration between BYGB Hospitality and Lucali. The restaurant takes up the previous space of Kilo Kallang, which used to be one of my favourite dining spots. With that, I am happy to say that Lucali BYGB has kept the space pretty much intact. The familiar minimalist interior and white walls, except for the long bench tables which are new. You still get that amazing view of Kallang River, and it still feels like an oasis in the city fridge. The Food Good vibes aside, I was really here for the famous pizza. Don’t be too shocked to realise that the menu is extremely concise, and it is probably the first time I only see one pizza option on the menu. Yes, I am referring to Our Original 18″ Pie (S$55). Not to [...]

The Place Online food platform is the new trend, and I’m not referring to third delivery platforms like Deliveroo or GrabFood. There are a couple of Michelin Star restaurants which launched their own delivery concept recently, Miss Vanda by Labyrinth being one I tried. This is a casual spin-off of the One Michelin starred Labyrinth by Singaporean Chef LG Han, where you can find Singaporean style dishes on their website at relatively more casual prices. A quick look at Miss Vanda’s Instagram page, and the concept is currently an online delivery model, though it took over the space of Labyrinth briefly last month in June. As to whether there are plans to launch Miss Vanda into a physical restaurant, it is not clear at the moment. The Food The online menu is concise, which is great because I’m not a fan of too many options on a menu, if you know what I mean. One starter which you can’t miss is the Boneless Crispy Har Cheong Chicken Wings (4 whole wings, S$14). The key word, boneless. The chicken meat is wholesome and comparatively huge compared to the usual versions, and the prawn paste flavour is unusually heavy, which is not [...]

With the first phase of hotels announced last week for approved staycations, the below is the latest list updated today by STB. With travelling overseas not happening any time soon, we can’t wait to check into some of these hotels in the next few months for a “getaway”. We will be exploring some of the note-worthy hotel deals for some of the approved hotels below! Capella Hotel, Singapore The Capella Villa Experience is worth taking an extra day off work. Enjoy a complimentary upgrade to a villa with private plunge pool valid for stays from now till 31 August 2020. Note that the villa upgrade is only applicable for weekday bookings between Sunday and Friday and is subject to availability. The package includes Complimentary villa upgrade with Premier Seaview Room; Early check-in, late check-out; Choice of in-room breakfast or at The Knolls for two daily; 20% off Food and Beverage at The Knolls and Cassia; Complimentary overnight parking per room per night. Raffles Hotel Singapore The Suite Life staycation package is the most attractive for us, valid for bookings till 30 September 2020. Priced from S$795++, it includes a complimentary second night, complimentary upgrade, subject to availability; early check-in at [...]

The Place One of the most popular stalls at ABC Brickworks Food Centre, I have tried Fatty Cheong a couple of times and I finally got down to writing about. This corner stall is famous for its Bu Jian Tian roast meat, which is a special cut from the pig’s armpit. It is my first time hearing of such a specialised term for roast pork! The Food Roast duck rice, roast pork rice and wanton noodles, just some of the options here paired with the meats. I had the Char Siew Roasted Pork Rice (S$4), generously drizzled with the braised dark sauce, and served with a good portion of char siew for the price. The char siew is definitely the star here, characterised by the burnt edges. It is not that fatty like the ones from Izzy Fook, but reasonably tender and overall very delicious. That said, the ‘zup’ or the braised dark sauce is not as flavourful as I like. I also tried the Wanton Noodle (S$4), which is average except for the char siew. For the price, the portion of the char siew is very generous though it is a pity that the noodles itself is average. It [...]

In the midst of the current Phase 2 situation in Singapore circuit breaker, hotels may now apply to the authorities to reopen for staycation bookings. Given that travelling out of Singapore may not happen any time soon, we have been looking forward to our next staycation in Singapore and the newly launched staycation promotions from The Fullerton Hotels and Resorts is really timely. These are the latest stay offers tailored for different groups of guests, along with the hotel’s launch of the Fullerton vouchers. One important fact to note is that all the staycation packages allow guests to make changes to stay dates and cancel without any penalty, an awesome clause given the fact that the exact timeline and date allowed for staycation is not yet firmed up at this point in time. It is also mentioned by the hotel in their media release that there are rigorous and enhanced cleanliness practices in place at all their properties to ensure that guests can experience an elevated level of protection. Staycation Vouchers (Buy Now, Use When the Time is Right) The vouchers can be utilised when the time is right, up to 12 months later. The Luxury of Time voucher package [...]

The Place Opened less than a year ago, I checked Out The Bakehaus recently, a homegrown bakery which makes their own Artisanal And Sourdough Breads. Located along the relatively quiet estate of Owen Road in a shophouse setting, The Bakehaus spots a small counter space which displays all their bakes for the day proudly. It is a grab and go concept, with no dine-in capacity. I am always on the hunt for good bakeries in Singapore, and it seems like this circuit breaker has boosted the demand of bakeries all around town. Think Mother Dough Bakery and Petit Pain, which are local bakeries I highly recommend as well. The Food Back to The Bakehaus, it seems like the team alternate some of their offerings every week, but one thing for sure is that there is very good variety of bakes on display, be it sweet or savoury. I ordered a mix of the Butter Croissant (S$3), Gula Melaka Almond Croissant (S$8), Kouign Amann (S$6.50), Bacon Cream Cheese Danish (S$9), a loaf of Brioche Bread, and finally, the Triple Belgium Dark Chocolate Brownie (S$6). My favourite of the lot is definitely the Kouign Amann! I have been craving for this French [...]

Hougang Hainanese Village, Singapore – Also known as Hougang Hainanese Village Centre, Lorong Ah Soo Market & Food Centre is a popular hawker centre in the North-east of Singapore. Most of the hawker stalls have been around here for decades, and the whole hawker centre is perpetually crowded every weekend. Here are some of the popular stalls I recommend. Da Zhong Cafe Not the hipster cafe you are imagining, Da Zhong Cafe serves traditional kaya toast and coffee. The half boiled eggs are served in an old school self-timer fashion Time it yourself while the eggs are immersed in the boiling blue mug. Very old school flavours, and that local Kopi taste is thick! Where: 105 Hougang Ave 1, #02-20, Hainanese Village Centre Dong Jin Yuan Dian Xin Who doesn’t love fried carrot cake sticks? This popular stall serves these old school snacks at S$2 for 12 sticks, and I love it because each stick is fried to a crispy, golden brown texture. Deliciously addictive. Where: 105 Hougang Ave 1, #02-04 Hainanese Village Food Centre, 530105 Hup Huat (White) Carrot Cake An old timer in the hawker centre, it is interesting that Hup Huat only does white carrot cake (I [...]

Takeaway and delivery is the way to go since Circuit Breaker started in Singapore, and with Singapore reopening the island in phases, it will still be at least another 4 to 6 weeks before we can dine out at restaurants. Here are some of the meals we had at home in the past month, and hopefully it helps if you are looking for some inspirations. Violet Oon Singapore Satay Bar & Grill Another concept of VIolet Oon Singapore, Violet Oon Singapore Satay Bar & Grill is available for delivery and takeaway. We like the heavy flavours of the local Peranakan delights we tried, such as the VO Street Satay which is served with a spiced ground peanut sauce with fresh puree of pineapple along with a side of steamed rice cakes. Another dish we highly recommend is the Ayam Panggang Berempah with Nasi Kuning, which basically is grilled chicken marinated in milk and spices accompanied with a serving of glutinous and jasmine rice infused with turmeric steamed with coconut milk. Other dishes we tried and took a liking includes the Eggplant with Sambal and the Garam Asam Barramundi with Pineapple and Ginger Flower which features locally farmed Barramundi. Enjoy free [...]

I know from the title it looks morbid but trust me, this might be some good input you can do when your travel souls are on a break. It’s not you, it’s not me, it’s not the world, it’s Covid-19. Do you have that itchiness when you see cheap Scoot promo flight deals online? I swear, there are even various Singapore Airlines promo flight deals that made me feel like ugh if only traveling is still safe for us. But, let’s not be gloomy during these times. Here are some of the activities we can do together to mend our broken traveler-hearts. Redecorate and Reorganize Your House This is like another fancy word for “doing chores”. This could be the best time to get into your interior design spirit and redecorate your house. Maybe a little change in the order of the furniture, the decorations on the wall or the setup in your bedroom is what you need. By doing this, you will find inspirations for more ideas to work on! Netflix and Chill (The normal-kind of “Chilling”) Spending time catching up on your wishlist on Netflix, Viu, MeWatch or any other streaming platforms out there. You just need your [...]

Singapore – With the introduction of new COVID-19 ‘circuit breaker’ measures by Singapore government, all F&B retailers including restaurants and hawker stalls can only accept delivery or takeaway from April 7 onwards. No dine-in is allowed. For us, it is either trying our clumsy hands to cook at home, or turn to delivery or takeaway food options. Here is a list of some of the options to consider for the month ahead! Let’s tabao your favourites from Deliveroo, Foodpanda and GrabFood, and remember to maintain your social distancing! Paradise Group Paradise Group Offers 30% Off Total Bill Takeaway at any Paradise Group outlets and you can enjoy 30% off till end of April 2020. This is an awesome dining deal, especially when there are so many Paradise concepts such as Beauty In The Pot, Canton Paradise, Le Shrimp Ramen and Paradise Teochew, and so on. 30% discount is valid for Citibank, Maybank and PGR cardmembers. All Paradise Group of Restaurants including Beauty in The Pot are also available for delivery on Deliveroo, Foodpanda and GrabFood. Keng Eng Kee Seafood Everyone loves KEK Seafood. Enjoy island wide delivery with a minimum order of S$10 and order via their website. Take 10% [...]