Where to eat near SGH

(Note: This post was suppose to be up last weekend but I have been too busy with everything that is going on that it is only being uploaded now. Oops!)

It is really rare for me to go out these days... It is even rarer (does this word even exist?) for me to put on make-up. I am usually so swarmed with work that the furthest that I'll ever go is to the nearest mall from my place and that's it.

Yesterday I made an exception and travelled all the way to Outram Park!! Not bad right? *smirks*

So yes, I finally have nice photos to post up this week. No backlog post this time. (I'll leave that for next week if my week is a boring one lol)

I went to SGH to visit my aunt who is warded there. Had Burger King's for lunch before I went. Spotted this "infinity" onion ring!


If only there were 2, then it would be double infinity just like in the show "Revenge"!!

Decided to go for a walk after visiting my aunt, then Rod and I passed by an alley that made a really cool backdrop for an ootd shot!

Therefore, tadah!

I swear Le Bf is getting more and more artsy. He took down all of the photos that I stuck up on my bedroom wall and re-pasted all of them up in a super random and artsy manner.

Before that, I stuck these photos up in a very rigid and structured manner because I tried and failed to stick them in this artsy manner that he has done. Somehow I just couldn't imagine how to do it and when I tried to anyhow do it... it still failed -.-

#facepalm

Back to the main topic.. After that we just walked around looking for a place to eat.

I wanted "exotic" food (well actually not really that exotic but rather something new, exciting and interesting!) because I haven't really stepped out of the house for over 5 weeks since my clinicals started.

I really really really needed to spice up my life! Even if by having just an interesting meal..

And that was when we found this place!

The Provision Shop
Blk 3 Everton Park
#01-79
Singapore 080003
Contact number: 6225 9931
Website: https://www.facebook.com/TheProvisionShop

It is a quaint little cafe situated at the void deck of some casual, ordinary, nothing-surprising HDB blocks.

We almost walked by it because we were walking at the pavement beside the road and it was hidden from our view because of the estate's garden. What made me stop in my tracks was that uphill pebble pavement that led from the concrete roadside pavement to that unexpected eatery.

Somehow something deep inside me just made me wanna take that pebble pavement and check out what lies at the end of the pavement. Thankfully I did because I was rewarded with a really nice surprise (:


We did not know what to expect. We walked into the eatery without knowing what sort of cuisine it served or if it was even good... Well, how can we know when we didn't even know about its existence right?

It was only after we saw its menu then did we know that we would having italian food for dinner.

It isn't our first time having italian food in our little red dot, but the last time we had it.. it was at Mozza (click 'here' to read about it). A fancy pizza restaurant at MBS. And yes, that meal wrecked up quite a bill at the end of it.

What we saw on this menu, it resembled nothing like what we had seen in the other menu at Mozza. The only thing that we were grateful is that this menu is in English and we could read it. The one in Mozza was in Italian. (We had a waiter at Mozza read the menu for us after we spent almost 15-20 minutes staring at the menu, trying to figure it and we gave up in the end lol)

So onto what we ordered for dinner!

Our entrée: Mushroom soup
Price: $5

I am a huge fan of soups. And an even greater one when it comes to MUSHROOM SOUP. I just can't say 'no' to it. Not now, not ever.

I could tell by the taste of it that this mushroom soup was restaurant-cooked (I mean, not from a can nor packet) and it was done on the day itself, and not pre-cooked a couple days back. The mushroom soup was creamier and bursting with flavour. It is by far, the best mushroom soup that I have ever had. However I would like it more if they added little bits of chopped-up mushroom for me to chew on, instead of having all the mushrooms blended (which I think explains the burst of mushroom flavour in the soup!)

The name of this dish is a mouthful, here I go: Cotechino sausage, cannellini beans, zuchinni, butternut squash & fresh herbs in a light chicken broth
Price: $18

I still can't decide if I actually like this dish. I know that the sausage is the main gist of the dish, but I actually preferred everything else BUT the sausage. I found the sausage to be too fatty and it irked me out after I had my first 3 bites, and later on I felt like vomiting while eating the second piece. So I gave the rest to Rod.

I would say that the chicken broth and its contents are suitable for people who have a lighter taste bud (as in people who are less into savoury food) and it isn't oily at all. A thing to note though is that the chicken broth did not have a hint of chicken at all, it tasted more like tomato broth :/

As for the portion of food, it is pathetically little for such a price. I was expecting more.

Traditional carbonara (Bacon, barn-raised egg yolks & parmiggiano regianno)
Price: $16

Do not expect to taste your usual carbonara. I can't describe it but they added something to their carbonara which made the taste really different. It isn't a bad sort of different but just different.

The good thing about this carbonara is that it isn't as creamy and cheesy like most carbonara, which can sometimes make it hard to swallow or cause one to get sick of the dish quickly. The portion is a bit small though..

Crème brûlée
Price: $3

Rod ordered Crème brûlée. I didn't have a bite of it because it is a half-cooked egg and I wasn't sure if my weak stomach would be able to handle it. I saw them melt the sugar layer on the top it was served to us and that made the Crème brûlée even tastier! I heard from Rod that most places actually have their Crème brûlée melted beforehand just for convenience's sake, so I guess.. that gives this eatery an extra brownie point?

Overall, dinner at The Provision Shop was not too bad in terms of its appearance but the prices were rather steep. Honestly I was expecting much cheaper food given its location and a much larger portion. My favourite out of all the food I ate was actually the entrée, mushroom soup. I guess having brunch there might be better as their brunch menu seems less complex, more visual and appetising. The price looks more reasonable as well!

Grin Affair
3 Everton Park
#01-77A
Singapore 080003
Contact number: 8282 7375
Website: http://grinaffair.com/

About 10 metres away from The Provision Shop was Grin Affairs. A delightful dessert shop which blew my mind and stole my heart. I love how they decorated the store with their handmade decorations - keeping it simple and sweet.

Grin Affairs sold jarcakes with the price ranging around $6. They had so many flavours to choose from and all the cakes are made of fresh and natural ingredients! In order to preserve the quality of the cakes, few are made and so it isn't always that the flavour of choice would be available for purchase!

I was lucky enough to try out their banana dark chocolate that day! I bought it to-go as they close their shop at 8pm (so be sure to be there before 8pm!!) and it was 20 minutes to closing time.

Banana dark chocolate
Cocoa crust layered with dark chocolate mousse & chocolate cake, topped with fresh banana slices & sea salt duke de leche with almond
Price: $6.50

I'm not a fan of cakes. I never was. But this jarcake... I really could not help falling in love with it, and I can't wait till I have some free time on hand to go back and get another one! I had it while it was frozen (but it is recommended to have it chilled!) and the mousse seemed like ice-cream! It was a perfect combination for me.. the cake, the mousse, the banana slices and the cocoa crust. The only thing which I didn't like was the salted caramel, but that's okay because everything else tasted too awesome!!

My 21st: Part III

While I was editing my Taiwan trip photos, I realised that I have yet to upload photos for my 3rd day of celebration for my 21st birthday!! So here is the last, but not the least part!

Rod brought me to Cat Café (Neko no Niwa) on the last day of the year (2013)!

54A Boat Quay
Singapore 049843
Contact no.: 65365319 (reservations recommended!!)
Email: seeyou@catcafe.com.sg
Website: http://www.catcafe.com.sg


Cat Café is the first of its kind in Singapore. I heard that there is another one coming up soon...?

Neko No Niwa means 'Cat Garden' in Japanese.

There are currently 13 cats in this Cat Café! Unfortunately.. I can't remember the names of all the 13 cats because I went such a long time ago!!! BUT!!! You can find out some of their names from their facebook page (Click 'here')

All the cats that you'll see at Neko No Niwa are adopted cats!

Ok I am incredibly lazy to write captions from here on. Just gonna keep all the captions damn short and unless necessary. Returning the limelight back to the meow-meows.

The place where you interact with the cats is also where you will have your tea or food (if you ordered any).

The kitchen and the dining area is separated by a piece of glass. So the staff can see what is going on inside and you can also see what's going on outside too. You'll get your food/drink through a small window in the glass.
Ordered a cup of tea while I was there. It's.. okay. Nothing special to it.

Other than the cats who kept me company! :D

Sigh.. This pic makes me wanna give it a little rub on his head. So cute.
Sad me because none of the kitties wanted to come near me :( So much for being lap cats.

They said that the cats would jump on your lap and curl up to take a quick snooze or just to get some pats.. but none jumped on my lap!!! In fact, I think they liked Rod more than me.

I say that because he didn't even make the effort to go near them and they just kept going near him.. but I kept going near them and yet they kept shunning me away. Super sad. Bias kitties :(

So anyway... here is me, aiming for a kitty! Ha! I saw you!!

Ha! Gotcha!!

I kept houndering this kitty after that.. What?! I gave its fur a nice brush!

See!!! I brushed its fur so nicely that it became all shiny and neat!
We now have a kitty who is proud of his well-brushed fur!
(I think it's a he???)

Rat: "Hey there friend! What you doing?"

Rat: "Hello??"

Rat: "Hello.....?????"

Rat: "Hmm.. No reponse... I'll check back on you again later."

Rat: "Hi friend! I'm back!!"

Rat: "Friend? Hello??"

Rat: "Gee! You sleep a lot! Let's see if I can wake you up..."

Rat: "Friend! I brought you more friends!! Wake up!!"

Rat: "Hey!! Wake up!!!!"

Rat: "Hellooooo.. Sleepyhead! My friends are already on you!! Wake up!!!"


Cat: ".. zzz.."

Rat: "This is not going to work is it? Sigh.. I give up."

Souvenirs for sale!!
How the cafe looks like upon entering the place


Okay!! Finally done with all the photos taken for my 21st birthday!

This is my second long entry in a row. I hope all the cute kitty photos will make up for the lack of interesting blog entries these days.

I really miss writing interesting blog posts too.. Boring blog posts = boring life for the moment.

Need to hang in there because my attachment will soon be over in another 3 more weeks and I need to cherish every moment while it lasts. Till now, this is the only clinical placement which I know I will miss.

Ok need to catch some sleep so that I can wake up early tomorrow to continue working on my stupid presentation slides which will be presented next Thursday! :(

Wish me luck xo



Hearts,
Soph <3