Mochi Sweets (日本傳統的甜)

We decided to visit Bugis+ yesterday, and found the new tenant-mix so much better than the last. There's a huge Sephora store, Uniglo, and a dessert store called Mochi Sweets which caught my eye. When we first laid eyes on the display, the first thought that came to mind was Mochi Cream, a similar dessert we had encountered on one of our trips to Japan. Honestly, I think they just named it differently.

The boy decided on a black sesame mochi, and I chose the purple potato mochi. At $2.50 to $2.80 per mochi, it is on the expensive side, though still cheaper than in Japan. The mochis are frozen and you have to wait at least 20 minutes for it to thaw before the texture is perfect for consumption. 

They were really flavourful, though a tad too sweet. Thank goodness for the teaspoon of cream inside which helped to balance out the sweetness.

Fruity Puffy, Tea and Grapefruit Calpis @ Fruit Paradise

So we were walking past Fruit Paradise at Vivocity when a new creation, the Fruity Puffy, caught my eye. I never like cream puffs, especially when most have horrible hard shell, but somehow it brought to mind the cream puffs that Singapore Airlines offered to passengers as pacification when a flight in 2009 was being delayed for 2 hours, and anything related to travel and food is a happy memory for me. 

Well, the long weekend was also upon us and we weren't traveling out of the country and what better remedy for a sad thought than some sinful cake. 

Can't decide between a cake or a tart or a cream puff? Hey, have all 3! Why not have some peaches, some strawberries, blueberries, and jelly too?

Since there was only 1 cream puff, I divided it into 2, so that the boy and I could both have some. And I was sweet enough to make it more enticing for him.

He had a grapefruit calpis which was too milky for him and I had a pot of Fruit Paradise tea which was too bland for me. We'll just stick to their tarts the next time.

For some other varieties of tarts they serve, you may want to refer to my previous post.

Tohato Caramel Corn Strawberry Flavour (Seasonal)

I never developed a liking for Tohato Caramel Corn, until I saw a guy at Daiso grabbing a few bags of the strawberry flavoured ones.

I have to say I like it! The light coating of strawberry dust gives the puffs a flavour not unlike strawberry pocky, and yet the yummy taste of corn still comes through on occasion.

Mark's and Spencer's Jalapeno Cheese Crispies

Because of the unforgettable and sorely missed breakfast at N.Y Bagels in Taipei, I had to get myself a box of the Mark's and Spencer Jalapeno Cheese Crispies the moment I saw that it had cheese and jalapenos in it.

Crispy and light would be an appropriate description of the crackers, but it sure isn't anything like puff pastries. It is slightly bitter, with a strong taste of gouda cheese and yes, you do taste minute bits of hot pepper. Pretty good, although I would have preferred it less bitter and more spicy :D

Kameda Umashio Ebisen (Japanese Prawn Crackers)

I like prawn crackers! It's just really difficult to find ones that are tasty.

Some are terribly bland, or a little too hard, or tastes like plastic, or just too oily. Hence I heaved a sigh of relief when I bit into my first piece of Kameda Umashio Ebisen. The cracker is thicker than most, looks like it's going to taste a little plasticky but not at all, with the prawn flavour and salt in just the right proportion.

Yes, it contains MSG, but some things are just too difficult to resist :D

Glico Pocky Tsubu Tsubu Strawberry Biscuit Sticks

This is what I snacked on while we watched The Hunger Games. Triple the price of the regular one, it comes in three individual packs of about 8 sticks each.

It's selling point is the heart-shaped biscuit stick, which I would not have even noticed had I not taken a detailed look at the back of the box. In fact, I found the shape to be rather poorly defined.

What I liked about the Glico Pocky Tsubu Tsubu Strawberry Biscuit Sticks though, is the sourish and crunchy "strawberry" flakes. The strawberry flavour is sharper than the regular sticks, but not as intense as the Meiji Rich Strawberry Apollo Cocoa.

Fran Melty Kiss Green Tea Sticks

Given my fondness for green tea and glico pocky, I got myself a box of the Fran Melty Kiss Green Tea Sticks despite it being on the pricey side.

I was delighted to find the sticks packaged into three separate servings, and a good thing too, considering how rich in flavour they are.

The taste of green tea is intense, and combined with white chocolate, really creamy.

The stick that it coats is bitter, which is a perfect and welcome contrast.

Meiji Rich Strawberry Apollo Cocoa

I'm not fond of chocolate but I love strawberries.

I decided to get the Meiji Rich Strawberry Apollo Cocoa, when I saw the box stating "strawberry times 5!"

That's five times the intensity of the regular strawberry choco.

I like the really strong strawberry flavour and what are those sour-tasting granules?!
:)

Meiji MeltyKiss Rum & Raisin Alcoholic Chocolate

I don't particularly like chocolates but I do love rum and raisin, and I have to say that I adore the Meiji MeltyKiss Rum & Raisin Alcoholic Chocolate.

Each of the six individually wrapped pieces contain 3.7% alcohol, and once opened, you'll have to store them in the refrigerator or they'll melt too much and become a textural mess.

The alcoholic content for me, a non-drinker, is over-the-top, but there's a thrill in having the alcohol evaporate into your sinuses with every bite :)

Glico Tsubu Tsubu Pocky Lychee Sticks

I came across this Glico Tsubu Tsubu Pocky Lychee Sticks at the grocery store near my place and since I rather like lychees, decided to give it a try. I did not expect this to be any good, either with the barest hint of lychee or artificial-tasting, but I was pleasantly surprised! There are bits of lychee in the cream, and the taste is strong enough without being overwhelming nor artificially nauseating. In addition, it was really cheap at around $1, being manufactured in Thailand.

Famous Chicken Rice @ Changi Village Blk 5

The boy and I would head to Changi Village for supper once in a while, but on very rare occasions, we would pop by for lunch at the famous chicken rice place opposite Cheers. Besides Hainanese chicken, they also serve a variety of side dishes like kailan, beansprouts and fried fritters. One of the better quality chicken rice in Singapore, with the only downside being the annoying houseflies that will buzz around your legs and table as you eat. That, and no aircon, which probably makes it a better location for dinner than lunch.

Includes free flow of soup (on occasion you'll get peanut soup!) which you can help yourself to, from a common pot. I normally order either a cold chestnut or lime juice to go with my meal.

Beansprouts in soya sauce, topped with fried ikan bilis and chopped chillies.

Fried cuttlefish paste dough fritters is one of my favourite foods, but sometimes these are over-fried till they're a tad too hard and oily. With sesame seeds and mayonaise for dipping.

After our meal, we'll take a leisurely drive to town via Changi Coast Road, with the airport to our right and the sea to our left :)

Lupicia Tea: Melon Oolong (HoneyDew!)

I bought a couple of Lupicia teas during my trip to Taipei and my favourite would have to be the Melon Oolong. The melon pieces make the tea smell amazingly honey-sweet and mellow, though it does not add much to the taste. Which is a pity. Someone make some incredibly fruity tea please!

First time I've seen tea leaves all rolled up! A cute characteristic of oolong tea leaves.

In a minute or two, the oolong leaves unfurl completely and puffs up the teabag :) My first time making tea with rolled pearls and I was taken by surprise at how fat the teabag ended up. Time for some aromatherapy! It smells so good I would repurchase in a heartbeat >0<

Soups, Sandwiches and Wraps @ The Soup Spoon

Beef Goulash is my favourite. It is lightly spiced with paprika and has chunks of beef and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and celery in it. I like it for the slightly sourish and spicy flavour.

The Tokyo Chicken Stew comes in second in my list of favourites. I love soups that have a bit of everything in them, and the Tokyo Chicken Stew has lotus root, shitake and enoki mushrooms, carrots and bamboo shoots in it. The chicken is supposedly marinated in teriyaki and simmered in a broth of sake and mirin, but I really wouldn't have guessed.

The Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff comes in third just because stirring hot Campbells mushroom soup over the stove late at night is a pleasant childhood memory. This has generous bits of mushroom in it, and they are big enough to make chewing your soup a satisfying experience. Not one of those lousy soups which leave you wondering if you are merely downing a bowl of unhealthy starch but yes, you can taste the starch.

The Simon and Garfunkel Chicken and Mushroom Ragout isn't bad either. It has marinated chunks of chicken cooked with six types of mushrooms, namely, portobello, oyster, abalone, enoki, shitake, and button mushroom. Flavoured with sage to ease indigestion, rosemary to reduce inflammation, thyme as an expectorant, and parsley as a power anti-oxidant.


The Boston Clam Chowder on the other hand, is the kind of starchy soup that I hate. I won't be having it again, even though they were rather generous with the clams. I think I spied only potatoes and celery in the chowder.


Peace, Love and Muscles Chowder (soup special) was a major disappointment. The picture on the poster showed that it had a generous serving of whole New Zealand Green Shell Mussels, but the bowl of soup that was served to us probably had only ONE mussel that was chopped so finely, I could barely taste it. There is also sweet potato, russet potato, celery, spinach, fennel and bacon in the soup.



We almost always order a set meal which comes with either a choice of a half wrap or sandwich. The boy loves his Chicken Mushroom Wrap and Roast Duck Wrap.

Chicken Mushroom Wrap
(Chicken Breast, Mushroom, Cheddar Cheese, Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Caesar Salad Dressing)

Roast Duck Wrap
(Roast Duck, Cucumber, Tomato, Romaine Lettuce)


I would always have either the Herbed Chicken Caesar Sandwich or the Roast Beef Wasabi Sandwich. The chicken is tender, the beef is thinly sliced and the taste of wasabi is very slight.

Herbed Chicken Caesar Sandwich
(Rosemary Chicken, Onion, Cucumber, Romaine Lettuce, Tomato, Caesar Dressing)

Roast Beef Wasabi Sandwich
(Roast Beef, Red Onion, Gherkins, Cheddar Cheese, Green Salad, Wasabi Mayo)