Celebrating 9 Years at SKIRT

October is a month of celebrations for us, as aside from Noey's birthday, we also celebrate our wedding anniversary.

It is 9 years this year for us, and it feels like time has just sped us by. The husband was in fact totally taken by surprise. "I thought it was our 8th anniversary!" he said when I greeted him in the morning. Well, it's been 9 years mister! I merrily informed him that I fully intended to collect on a holiday sans kids next year for the 10TH! Hee.

Well, this year, we kept it simple and just went out for a dinner date. When DD asked where I would like to go for dinner, I actually suggested going for a casual crab dinner at Crab in Da Bag until my husband reminded me that this is one of the very few occasions when I would be able to get a nice expensive dinner out of him. The man is right of course, so we decided on dinner at SKIRT (yes, all in CAPS, yo). The fact that they only welcome kids above 8 years of age sealed the deal. It's been on my list for a while and we didn't get a chance to dine at the restaurant during our last staycation at W so it seemed like a good opportunity to visit.

We were quite fascinated by the huge hunks of beef hanging in the drying cases up front.

Since we were there for a treat, we decided to go all out and order ourselves a meat fest. But first some appetisers to start. Our server thoughtfully asked us if we wanted to share the dishes and brought us little plates for eating off which I thought was rather nice. DD ordered the Crab Cakes with Cucumber and Spiced Foam. This was yummy and one of the better crab cakes I've had. The spiced foam that came with the crab cake had an interesting flavour and DD commented that the combination with the crab cake reminded him of chilli crab. The portion was so small though! Just one little crab CAKE (no plural). It was gone in a few bites. 

Complimentary freshly baked bread. Quite delicious, especially with the dips. I liked the hummus but the husband totally went for the chorizo lard, naturally!

Crab cakes, or really just crab cake.

I ordered the Yellowfin Tuna Tartar with Avocado and Wasabi. I realise I have a habit of ordering Tuna Tartar when it's on the menu, like during our anniversary two years ago! (While we're at it, DD also ordered crab cakes for our anniversary last year. What can I say, we are creatures of habit!) Raw tuna with avocado is a winning combination - you just can't go wrong with that. We were a bit puzzled by the wafer (?) pieces that came with it. DD wryly commented that they were like 'lao hong' crackers. That aside, I really enjoyed this dish.

Tuna Tartar with Avocado and Wasabi.

Before the mains were served, we were given a palate cleanser of apple bourbon and some BBQ sauce which arrived at the table in two cute little bottles, looking like shampoo and conditioner!

BBQ Sauce and Apple Bourbon

And then the pièce de résistance of our meal: our Tasting Plate of 5 Breeds. And the 5 different types of beef were (counting down from the least spectacular to the most):

5. Hereford Grass Fed, John Stone Longford, Republic of England

4. Black Angus Corn Fed, Creekstone Farms Arkansas City, Kansas, United States

3. Black Angus Grain Fed, Black Onyx MS3, Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia

2. F1 Wagyu Grain Fed, Sher Wagyu 6-7, Ballan, Victoria, Australia

1. Full Blood Wagyu Grain Fed, Blackmore MS9+, Alexandra, Victoria, Australia

Was that Greek to you like it was to us?

My best photo of the plate, which alas, features the #5 and #3 on the list, leaving the best meat in a blur in the top corner. #foodbloggingfail

We might not have known the difference at the start but we sure could tell the difference as we worked our way up the list. As we went along, each grade up was more meltingly tender, and, as the husband remarked, tasted less and less like beef as we (plebeians) know it. The top grade full blood almost literally melted in my mouth. It was quite an experience! I don't know how better to describe this. You'll just have to taste it for yourself!

Close-up of the so-good-it-doesn't-taste-like-beef beef. This is full blood waygu. 

Our sides of Spinach Goat's Cheese Gratin and Portobello Mushroom.

Even though we were completely stuffed by the end of the meal, we still made space for some lovely dessert, a chai brûlée. I thought the sugar topping was a bit thick and hard but I otherwise thoroughly enjoyed this, so much so that there are no pictures because by the time we remembered to take any, our dessert was half gone! 

All in all, we thought it was a great meal, befitting of the occasion. And the service was just excellent too. My friend MummyWee recently celebrated a friend's birthday at Skirt too and ordered the restaurant signature Skirt steak and other dishes including the Caraberino Prawns which she highly recommends. Do check out her post to find out more.

9 years and I'm grateful for this man who indulges my whims, lets me be myself, and still finds the things I say funny. 

That said, this past 9th year hasn't really come easy. I think in the past year, we slipped a little into taking each other for granted, shown our claws a bit more, gotten annoyed with each other more frequently, and held back a bit less. I'm not proud of this, but I think stems from our long-standing familiarity with each other. We would do well to recognise this and guard our hearts and minds to see that it doesn't develop into contempt. That's something to work on in the coming year -- to give a little more, complain a little less, and spend more time connecting. I guess more good meals wouldn't hurt either, eh!

9 years and I know that there is still no place I'd rather be.

Play, Eat and Shop at ToTT Bistro

When it comes to shopping, nothing gets my heart beating as quickly as a kitchen and homeware store. It's true -- just ask my husband, the one who hastily tries to steer me away from more pots and crockery and gadgets that we don't have the space for!

So, as you can guess, ToTT is one of my favourite places to browse. It's huge and because you can find everything you need under one roof, I've made many impromptu stops there to pick up baking essentials, crockery, party serveware, containers and other bits and bobs over the course of the past four years.

One thing that I've always been a bit disappointed with is the Bistro which I felt could serve a wider variety of food, given its location in such a food haven! Fortunately, the good folks at ToTT have realised this and have given the menu a recent revamp. The kids and I went down for a food tasting session recently and the children gave the food the thumbs up. They literally wolfed down the first few dishes! Here are some of our favourites:

Chicken Cottage Pie ($8.90++) 

With creamy mash covered with a layer of hot, gooey cheese, it was not surprising that the Chicken Cottage Pie was a hit with the kids. Cottage Pie is comfort food, and while I usually prefer beef, the chicken mince in this version is quite good too. I would order this again if I come with the children as it's really easy to feed them and they enjoyed it.

Tucking in to the Chicken Cottage Pie.

Another dish that the children really enjoyed was the Steak Sandwich and Fries with Coleslaw. 

Steak Sandwich and Fried with Coleslaw ($14.90++)

Noey, my sandwich and burger lover really dug this, and of course, both children cleaned up the fries. I found the steak a bit on the thin side, but juicy and pretty decent for the price. I rather liked the coleslaw, which the kids left to me, as it contained raisins and pineapple which added some sweetness to the mix.

Prawn Noodle Soup ($12.90++)

The dish I liked best was probably the Prawn Noodle Soup. I'm an Asian girl at heart, and the big crunchy prawns in this dish won me over. I think I would have preferred a greater depth of flavour in the soup which was a bit light but I would imagine this would make for an easy lunch on most days.

Sugar-dusted French Toast with Strawberries ($9.90++)

We all agreed that the Sugar-dusted French Toast with Strawberries was our favourite dish for the night. Light and non-greasy, the toast pieces were absolutely yummy. With the dusting of sugar and the strawberries, I didn't find it necessary to eat this with syrup, though my kids happily did! I only wish there were more pieces on a plate since I only got to take a few bites before my kids finished everything! 

I guess the bottom line is that the ToTT Bistro serves decent food and reasonable prices. While I would not deliberately journey a long distance to eat here, I would certainly keep this as an option for a meal and a spot of shopping when I'm in the area, especially when I have the kids in tow. I like that there are Western and Asian options available for every palate, and of course, the far that it has a little play area is a big plus.

Oh yes, it has a small playground -- did I mention that? There's a room off the Bistro with a climbing/sliding structure that I imagine would be a hit with the under-5s. Then again, my 6-year old was having plenty fun there!

ToTT is also currently celebrating it's 4th anniversary with a SALE -- 10 % off storewide till 31 Oct so this is the time to head down, if any!

ToTT Bistro
896 Dunearn Road,
#01-01A Sime Darby Centre
Singapore 589472
Tel: 6219 7077
Web: www.ToTTstore.com

*We thank ToTT Bistro for the invitation to try their new menu selections! All opinions remain our own. 

Happy 88th Birthday Mama!

DD's sweet little grandmother turned 88 on the 6 June, and just about the whole family turned up to celebrate.

It was dinner for everyone at Ah Yat's Seafood at Turf City. My first time there and I was surprised to find that it was HUGE! And packed on a Friday night. The food wasn't bad -- seafood is always good in my books -- and with the reasonable pricing, I guess I could see the draw! 

Before dinner, the kids had a great time checking out all the seafood in the tanks outside at Unique Seafood Market. There were all varieties of weird and wonderful seafood on sale which patrons can purchase to have cooked at either Ah Yat's Seafood or Owen Seafood nearby. It was a very interesting concept and the prices were really quite reasonable. I made a mental note to come back to check it out.

Seafood aside, what the kids enjoyed best was the time spent with their cousins. The four little ones played their own games and made a bit of a ruckus, prompting disapproving stares. 

And when it came time to sing cut the cake and sing the birthday song, you can bet they were up there to help out. Dear Meips then surprised everyone including her Chor Ma by throwing her arms around her for a hug.

(Kids dressed in their Fox best, including little Jaja in his Brazil jersey!)

Happy birthday dear Mama! You are very well-loved.

Get Hooked on Fish & Co's Mother's Day Platter

Here's a friendly public service announcement: In case you haven't yet realised it, Mother's Day is just around the corner!

I must admit that I never truly appreciated all that my Mum did - and is still doing - for me until I became a mum myself. That's the way it is with most kids, isn't it? You just tend to take your parents and the things they do for you for granted. That's definitely something that I'm still working to correct. 

So when Fish & Co recently held an early Mother's Day event, I decided that who I really wanted to bring along was my Mum and not my kids. In fact, I decided to leave the kids at home to spend some proper quality time with my mother, and I asked my sister along to make it a girls' night out. 

It was the first time in a while that I'd been to the Fish & Co outlet at the glass house beside Park Mall, and I'd forgotten what a charming location it is. My mum teased me about how she and my Dad used to bring my siblings and I to this same glass house in its previous incarnation as TGI Friday's and I think she appreciated the fact that it was I who was the one bringing her back there this time for a treat at Fish & Co.

That night, we were treated to Fish & Co's latest addition to the menu just for Mother's Day: the Mom's Platter.

Featuring generous portions of succulent king prawns, juicy scallops, calamari and more regular prawns, all deliciously grilled, the Mom's Platter also includes Fish & Co's very own unique creation of curry butter clams. All these served on a bed of servings of their signature paella rice and chips. If you enjoy their Seafood Platter (like I do), this is definitely an upgraded and upsized version of that. All three of us enjoyed it and I especially liked not having any little hands around to fight me for the chips.

The Mom's Platter filled the three of us nicely and but if you've got a heartier appetite than we do, aside from ordering other side dishes, you can also pick some of Top Ups to add to your dish like Grilled Giant Squid, Crab Cake, Swordfish Collar, or Scallop. 

It was a great evening, as we got to enjoy yummy food and enjoy good uninterrupted conversation for a couple of hours. That we got to dress up for pictures at the Fabfoto photo booth and get a cartoon caricature of ourselves done was a bonus.

Fish & Co's Mom's Platter will be available from 4 May to 11 May 2014, at all Fish & Co outlets. Priced at $65, it is ideal for sharing and is suitable for up to 3 pax. What's more, in appreciation of all mothers, Fish & Co will be offering a complimentary Fish & Co membership with every purchase of a Mom's Platter. Membership perks include 15% points rebate on your spending all year round (20% points rebate in your birthday month), and priority reservations, amongst other things. It sounds pretty good to me! 

From this bunch of zany blogger mums to you, Happy Mother's Day! And thanks Fish & Co for the treat!

 

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day 2014

Free Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream! That certainly got my attention.

Free Cone Day has been a Ben & Jerry's tradition since 1979, a day when the ice-cream chain thanks its loyal customers for their support over the past year by dishing out free ice-cream to all! I think it's a nice gesture with the added bonus that it's great for PR! 

I've missed the event year after year, always realising at the last minute that it was D-Day. But this time! This time I had rather providentially walked past the the promotional poster at Great World City just the week before. I made a mental note of the date, then hatched a plan with our swim mates to head over for free ice-cream after our swim session on 8 April. We picked Dempsey, thinking that it's more inaccessible location might mean smaller crowds in the middle of the afternoon.

Well, the crowd wasn't small. There were loads of students! But the queue was very well managed and there was a carnival-like atmosphere around which made the whole process more palatable. Instead of holding the event at their store, Ben & Jerry's had wisely set up shop in the open carpark behind their store, so there was plenty of space for the snacking queue, and more stations for the scoopies who were busy dishing out ice-cream. There were also plenty of helpers getting folks to pose with props and being around to ensure that the queue was kept moving. Thumbs up on a well-run event! 

We made it to Free Cone Day!

That's me, the 1st year Cone Newbie. They handed out stickers to everyone, from 1st year Cone Newbies to 2nd Year Scoop Rockers, up to 6th year Moo Masters and 8th year Resident Gurus!  

Donation boxes were strategically placed to collect donations for Ben & Jerry's charity partner, The Children's Charities Association of Singapore. 

We stood in line for about half an hour before we got to the front of the queue. In that time, we had plenty of time to contemplate the all important question of which flavour we were going to get. I was pleasantly surprised to see that pretty much the full menu of scoop shop flavours were made available, though the the downside to going later in the day was that about half of the flavours had run out. They were out of New York Superfudge Chunk (my favourite flavour!!) and in fact, all chocolate-based flavours like Chocolate Therapy, Phish Food and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. In the end, I opted for their newest flavour Couch Potato, a vanilla ice-cream with a salty caramel swirl and chocolate covered potato chip clusters. It was surprisingly good! The kids wolfed down their English Toffee Crunch and Strawberry.

Friendly scoopies serving up our ice-cream

The little miss is well-pleased.

Even little B got in on the action, with a cone AND ice-cream in a cup!

It was a nice afternoon treat. Maybe I'll be back for my 2nd year next year! 

Saveur: French Food at Affordable Prices

Dinner dates with the husband are few and far between. While we often have the best intentions, in recent months, we just haven't managed to fix anything up. And then recently, the stars aligned. I had a dinner appointment that was cancelled at the last minute and the husband unexpectedly got off work early. Since I had the night off, we decided it was as good an opportunity for a date as any. 

We had headed to Purvis Street to eat at Yingthai Palace, only to be turned away at the door as they had a full house for the night. I was really disappointed but we had no choice but to find an alternative. We walked over to Saveur across the road, a place I'd been meaning to try for a while, and half-heartedly asked if they had a table. I'd fully expected them to tell me they were full but to my surprise, they had a table for two available! I perked up immediately.

On entering, I was struck by the… noise. Haha. The restaurant was pretty packed so you can imagine the din. Not exactly somewhere for a quiet tête-à-tête. 

But when we got the menu, we got excited. The prices were, as promised, very reasonable. "That means we can order a lot!" said my husband gleefully. 

Well, we certainly did! 

The specials of the day.

For starters, we got their signature Saveur's Pasta, Duck Salad, Velouté (Pea Soup), and Summer Crab. The Saveur's Pasta looked like a popular order - I was seated facing the open kitchen and I saw the chef dishing up lots of orders of this throughout our time there. A coil of pasta with a minced meat sauce and topped with "Japanese konbu and sakura ebi" (which looked a lot like scallions and hae bee to me), this dish was refreshingly fusion, and pretty tasty. I didn't really taste the chilli oil despite it being described in the menu. Both DD and I gave this one the thumbs up.

Saveur's Pasta

A signature of Saveur's, pasta tossed with chilli oil, fine-chopped Japanese konbu & sakura ebi with minced pork sauce

$4.90

The Duck Salad was my order. No way DD was going to waste time and stomach space on a salad! Tossed with a light lemon vinaigrette, this was good but not particularly memorable. We both agreed that the duck probably came from the duck confit. I did like the quails eggs, which were soft with runny centres. That was a nice touch.

Duck Salad

Shredded duck confit mesclun tossed with homemade lemon vinaigrette, quail egg, orange segments & cherry tomatoes

$4.90

The Velouté was a Pea Soup so there's not much for me to say about it since I detest peas. I took a spoonful and yup, it tasted of peas. I didn't have any more of it but the husband quite enjoyed it. 

Velouté

Pea soup with parma ham croquette

$6.90

The best starter I unfortunately didn't photograph, and that was the Summer Crab. We were served with a leek roll tightly packed with cold shredded crab on a small piece of toast, and some citrus salsa on the said. The husband and I are crab fans and it was really delicious. I hope they put it on the menu as a regular item!

The Duck Confit was DD's choice of main. This was recommended and we could see why: it really was a a good duck confit, with tender meat you could tear with a fork and crispy skin. The mashed potato that it was served deserves a mention as it was really good too.

Duck

Duck leg confit, homemade mashed potato, sauteed shitake mushroom, orange segments & orange infused natural jus

$12.90

I ordered the pan-seared sea bass. It was good -- as good as any I've had at fancy restaurants -- with juicy meat under a crisp skin. But as you can see, the portion size wasn't large. It was enough for me (especially since we had so many starters!) but maybe not for someone with a bigger appetite.

Fish

Pan-seared sea bass, saute potato with crabmeat, french beans & caper vinagrette

$14.90

Desserts! We don't always have dessert, but this time, I thought we ought to go the whole hog. I got the chocolate mousse, which I enjoyed. I especially loved the little as berry bits which were sprinkled over the mousse. They added that nice sour punch to balance off the sweetness of the chocolate. The rice puffs also added a nice unexpected crunch to bites. Really yummy. Probably my favourite dish after the Summer Crab. 

Chocolate and Hazelnut

Chocolate mousse with crushed hazelnuts, broken raspberries, roasted rice puffs, chocolate tuile & praline

$7.90

DD ordered the cookies and milk and was served a rather unappetising looking plate of white foam. It turned out to be frothed milk with a cookie submerged inside. Cookies and milk is a winning combination, if any, though I did think that the cookie was a bit overly salty. The husband pronounced it good nonetheless.

Cookies & Milk

Cookie dough ice cream, milk soil, honey cloud, cherries kirsch & peanut butter

$9.90

The only hiccup in our meal was the fact that due to a mix-up in our orders, our mains came before our appetisers. When this was pointed out to our server, they quickly rushed out our appetisers for us too. Which meant that our tiny table was laden with food, and our gluttony was out there for all to see. Oops. But otherwise, we had a great meal, made even better when the bill came and we realised that all that food plus two drinks came up to under $100 for the two of us. Wow. We'll definitely be back!

I was actually a bit grouchy when we didn't manage to get that table at Yingthai Palace, but I was very grateful to have gotten a table unexpectedly at relative ease at Saveur instead. Maybe God knew I needed a treat. It was a lovely night with the husband, just being me, and not Mummy. Here's to more dates, impromptu or otherwise.

Saveur
5 Purvis Street,
Talib Court #01-04,
Singapore 188584
Tel: 6333 3121 (No reservations)

Christmas Time Is Here

 I wasn't really ready for Christmas, but it came anyway. And you know what? We had a great time. 

My homemade Christmas crackers (a clever idea by my friend Jasmine) and the aftermath!

We didn't have a big Christmas this year. Just a couple of gatherings with people who meant the most -- family, old friends, and not so old friends. We talked, we laughed, we played (or at least the kids did), and we ATE. Aside from ham which I made three times this year, my Christmas feasting was mostly non-traditional: Sushi and Jap-inspired pasta with friends, Teppanyaki with the in-laws, Dim Sum lunch with my family, and Steamboat with the girls. It was awesome, not the least because we didn't have to endure paying cut-throat prices for seasonal food. I was telling the hubby that we should totally do the reverse during Chinese New Year and have Western food but my old man refused. Hah.

Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to cook one large Christmas meal, which I managed to do, with some contributions from my Mum. She took care of the Angus Roast Beef and made a salad and some soup, while I whipped up some mash, a jap-insipred pasta, tackled the Ham, and tried something new: a Pork Knuckle. Nothing gets me excited like trying a new recipe, especially when trying to reproduce a family favourite!

After getting directions from the butcher and doing a bit of online research, I decide to follow this recipe. I salted the skin of the knuckle the night before generously as directed. "敢敢来!" said the butcher, so I that's what I did. And behold, the next day, the skin was nice and tight and dry. That's when I started getting excited. I seasoned the meat portion in the morning and added some extra seasoning to the skin before I stuck it in the oven. It cooked nicely for about 1 hr 15 min, then I turned the temp up to 220°C and hoped for the best. It was a bit scary cos I've rarely ever turned my oven that high. Didn't help that it started smoking! (It was from the oil dripping down from the meat and hitting the hot pan.) I gingerly hung around and when the skin turned a lovely golden colour, I decided to pull the knuckle out. On hindsight I probably could have left it in for a while more but I didn't want to risk it. But I was very happy with what I pulled out. The skin had a nice ring to it when I tapped it with a spoon and I knew it was going to be crispy. 

Port knuckle:  When I first put it in the oven and immediately after pulling it out!

Of course, the ultimate test is the taste test, and the verdict? It was really really yummy. (Yay.) The meat was tender and juicy while the skin had a good crunch to it. I'm definitely going to do this again -- and perfect it! It was a really good meal, if I may some myself.

The Christmas Feast

After all that food, we broke from past tradition and did the gift exchange and opening there and then, much to the delight of the children. They were certainly thoroughly spoilt, with gifts from my whole family. My parents and my sis and brother-in-law bought them so many gifts! It was a present bonanza.

Barbie! Her first, from her doting grandparents.

The orange Hot Wheels Lamborghini that he's been telling me about for a couple of weeks. His grandparents had brought him along to pick his own presents.

And the wall track to go with the cars! This has stayed on in my parents' house, to be played with when he's there.

Mr Men and Little Miss complete collections! Yay! A present from my sis and brother-in-law, at my request.

No Christmas is complete without Lego! This from my brother.

Meips favourite present of them all, and really the smallest one she received: a Hello Kitty pouch from my sister. I don't know how I managed to raise a Hello Kitty fan, but the the cat is definitely growing on me!

That was our Christmas, and I think it was a lovely way to end the year. 

Christmas Feasting at Grub

While it obviously isn't the focus of Christmas, I must admit that one of the things I enjoy about Christmas is the FOOD. All the roasts and mash and ham and turkey and pies and mulled wine and… alright, I'm hungry already!

I'm looking forward to cooking up some of that yummy goodness for my family when we meet for our annual Christmas dinner. But if you have no inclination to cook but yet want to enjoy a satisfying Christmas dinner, a good option might be to visit Grub to enjoy their Christmas menu.

I realise I haven't blogged about Grub before (no thanks to me having an awesomely huge backlog of posts) but it is one of my favourite places to eat at whenever I'm near Bishan Park. Having been a fan of Chef Mervyn's food for a long time and having attended Cookyn classes since way back when they were being run out of Mervyn's apartment, I know I'm always in for a treat when he's in the kitchen.

So I was delighted to be invited to a session to sample Grub's Limited Edition Christmas 2013 Menu! As an extra bonus, the kids were invited make cake pops. Noey was away at Sports Camp, so I brought Meips along to enjoy some girly time with me. 

If you haven't encountered cake pops, they are essentially little balls of cake, iced and served on a stick like a lollipop. I've been meaning to make these for a while now, so I was most interested to be given an opportunity this day. I did wonder if my two-year old was going to be able to manage, but she did, thanks to the fact that all the hard work was already done by the Grub team. They mixed the cake with ganache before hand, and prepared the white chocolate coating, prettily coloured pink and green in addition to the original cream colour. So all the kids had to do was shape the balls of cake, stick them on a stick, dip in chocolate and decorate. It was fun for the little ones and adults alike.

Sprinkles! All inviting and sitting pretty.

With her gloves and apron on, Chef Meips is ready for her task. That's her own apron, btw, which she insisted on bringing and wearing in place of the Cookyn Inc. ones.

Cake balls all rolled with sticks inserted!

Tah-dah! First cake pop coated with chocolate and sprinkled. Just needs some time in the fridge to harden before it's ready! 

An Important tip: Don't make the chocolate coating too thick. In fact, after dipping, take time to let all the excess chocolate drip off. If you put too much chocolate, it will not hold the sprinkles, which will start sliding down. It did in fact happen to me, with the one pop I was a bit impatient with.

Very happy with her handiwork!

After we were done, it was time for the main event: lunch! Grub's Christmas Set Menu is a 3-course set with two choices per course. So between Meips and I, we sampled all of the choices and oh my goodness, me, it was good. 

For appetisers, Meips had the Soup of the Day, which was a Leek Potato and Gorgonzola Soup. This was amazing. The leek and potato had been pureed into a creamy soup that was lovely and smooth. And yet, this was more than just a usual cream soup, probably because of the gorgonzola, which added another dimension to it. It was delicious. No surprises then that Meips loved it. She is fond of soup, but I've never seen her feed herself quite so much, and pretty quickly too. She managed to finish about half the bowl all on her own, and as you can see if the pic below, the bowl wasn't small!

I had the Smoked Salmon Salad. It was a reliably good one and I enjoyed it since I adore smoked salmon, but it wasn't mind-blowing, unlike the soup.

Getting into her soup. She complained a bit about the green bits (she hates garnish), but it still didn't stop her from polishing off half the bowl!

The smoked salmon salad.

Next up, the mains, which I really think are the stars of this menu. The Slow-Roasted Juicy Turkey Breast was really juicy, as promised. Which is practically unheard of in my books. I've have had my fair share of dry, tough turkey, but this! It made me realise that turkey could be tasty if done well. It was so tender I could cut it with a fork. And I especially liked the sweet potato mash that it came with. Mmmm.

Meips had quite a bit of the turkey, but later decided that her favourite dish was the Honey Baked Ham. Of course. My kids are both quite ham fiends, but I'm slow to give them too much since it can be really salty. This wasn't salty but instead had a good sweet flavour. I also liked that it was served thick-cut, which is my favourite way to eat ham. No thin slices for me! Meips gobbled this up.

The beautifully juicy turkey breast. How turkey should be!

The crowd favourite on my table -- the honey baked ham! Interestingly served with french beans, which I wouldn't have thought of putting together, but which worked pretty well.

I must admit that I stuffed myself with all that yummy meat and so didn't have too much space left for dessert. I went for the Sticky Date Cake, because I love sticky date -- it's one of my favourite desserts. Grub's version didn't disappoint. The cake was lovely and moist, and the warm cake with the cold ice cream is a great way to round off a meal. My dining partners had good reviews of the Banoffee, though I myself didn't have much more than a bite since I'm not a huge fan of banana.

Sticky Date Cake served with vanilla ice-cream, toasted almonds and burnt caramel sauce.

Banoffee - Banana and Toffee Trifle with freshly whipped cream.

Grub's Christmas Set Menu is only available for dinner till Christmas Eve, but here's something you can look forward to which will be joining Grub's menu next year: Bread and Butter Pudding. I'm not a huge fan of bread and butter pudding, especially since I usually only have this at hotel buffets. But this is nothing like the mushy, soggy stuff I'm familiar with. I'm not sure how but Chef Mervyn has managed to get the texture really light and it is surprisingly yummy. I regretfully couldn't finish much that day but I'll be looking out for it when Grub debuts this next year!

Really light Bread and Butter Pudding. Watch out for it in 2014!

Aside from all the yummy food, one of the best things about eating at Grub is that it's set in Bishan Park. Perfect for the kids to run around and have some fun before and after the meal! Meips had a good time scootering about and we also discovered that a playground new Grub that we didn't see before. It's better for older kids, say 5 years and above, but it didn't stop Meips from having a good go at it.

My little spidey-girl starts her ascent.

Thanks for the yummy treat Grub! We'll be back!

GRUB
510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1
(Bishan Park 1)
Singapore 569983
Tel: 64595743 (No reservations)
Nearest parking can be found off Sin Ming Ave in the carpark across the road from Blk 408.