The Butter Factory

The thing I like best about my Singapore trips is that there is always something new to do, some place new to visit.

One Fullerton is made up of a mix of offices and restaurants occupying a strategic location - gorgeous for daytime and nighttime photography!
Its eclectic mix of food and beverage outlets, from steak houses to trendy bistros and fine-dining restaurants have drawn many locals as well as tourists, to eat, chill-out, hangout and club.


Palm beach seafood restaurant is famous for their chili crabs. Well, I tried it and what can I say? Whilst the Sri Lankan crabs are amazingly fresh and full of taut, creamy flesh, the chili sauce just fell a little flat. It was sweet rather than spicy or tangy. They really should have just called it tomato crab!

However, the oysters (the size of my head) were worthy of praise. I nearly did a double-take, biting into the tender engorged center of the body of the oyster. It was at least 3 inches deep, across its thickest diameter (middle part of the oyster). I could feel the damn thing pulsating I swear. Amazing.



The first collage was the view from One Fullerton by day.
Now this is the view from One Fullerton by night.

Beautiful, isn't it? That's the gorgeous esplanade (durian like structure) and the Merlion(lion cum mermaid like statue) you see in the photo. What manner of beast is the Merlion and why the heck is something that is so obviously fictitious, an icon for Singapore?
I asked 3 Singaporeans before I got the answer I was looking for and even then, I had to piece it together myself:P The merlion was designed as a logo (for tourism)and is about 40 years old. The tail represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village and the lion head is because the founder, Sang Nila Utama, a Palembang Prince who, on his arrival on the island saw a lion and thereafter renamed Temasek, Singapura or "Lion City". There, satisfied?
Apparently even though many locals mock the icon, Singaporeans still flock to takes its picture, like a hundred times a day. Cool huh;)
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THE BUTTER FACTORY

located at One Fullerton, The Butter Factory is the newest, most coolest place to boogie down to (or so I am told by concierge, colleagues, Singaporeans living in Singapore and Malaysians living in Singapore), spread across two loud rooms.
(but if it's too loud, you're too old...
What Hairy..? speak up, I can't hear you :P)

Never mind the fact that the first H1N1 case was in fact, reported at The Butter Factory, this cute little party joint has since capitalized on the 'negative press' by constructing a clever little, tongue in cheek poster telling people to 'check their temperature' every hour when partying. Great marketing.

The Butter Factory has an absolutely crucial mission ..
have fun,
no hang-ups,
no attitude,
definitely no tight whities.
("Hairy, you need to go home and change into something more suitable":P)



Motto: "Feel at home and dance your legs down to little stumps! Get stupid, let loose, shake every asset you’ve been blessed with & just have a good time."

They forgot to add to their mission - no rocket science. Great motto!



What I like best about the place is the deco. It feels like I've just stepped onto the set of Sesame Street. Having said that the place is really quiet cheery, without feeling childish. It makes a change from boring muted tones and strobe lights.


The bartenders here are friendly and they make very strong cocktails.
You don't need to ask them to make your Long Island strong because it arrives in a jug, full of muscle;)

Add:
The Butter Factory,
One Fullerton,
1 Fullerton Road,
#02-02/03/04
Singapore 049213

Tel: +65 63338243


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If Butter factory is not enough for you,

Ministry of Sound on Clarke Quay has recently closed down, replaced by Zirca.

ZIRCA, is the first dance and show club in Singapore. meaning, it fuses live entertainment and dance into one big confusing experience, till the party goer does not know which way is up. Add some killer strobing lights to the drinking-dancing experience and walk away with slight brain/liver damage and just call it a 'great night out with the mates' ..
This place is gigantic - it can take 2,000 clubbers! Bloody hell.. isn't that like the entire population of Sing, ah? If you can see past the blinding strobes then you will notice that the deco is suppose to be glittery, Gotham city-like and the special effects promises a multi-sensorial experience, where clubbers get treated to visual spectacles of light and sound... in other words, irreversible brain damage.



This place is just so-so. I prefer Body butter Jam.. oops, sorry, one to many gym classes - I mean the Butter Factory;)

("Hairy.. where are you hairy.., get off the stage please.. we're leaving.. " )


Add:
Zirca,
Block 3C The Cannery,
River Valley Road,
Clarke Quay,
#01-02 to 05 & #02-01 to 08
Phone: +65 6235 2292

Footnote:
*It has to be said that Hairy is neither a 'fengtau kaki' nor suffering from brain damage. All the allegations regarding his party habits are fictitious and injected for humor sake, except for the white, tight singlet part.

** Thank you Hairy for being a fantastic host, yet again! (he comes highly recommended by C&C, should you be visiting that part of the world anytime soon;))

Absinthe

Bukit Pasoh, I was told by Hairy, is the trendy, newest area in Singapore where many good restaurants have opened at the start of this year.

Absinthe looks quiet and unassuming from the outside, but stepping inside you will see that even on a weekday, the place gets filled up around dinner time, pretty quickly.

When I get there, Hairy and XLB are already sipping champagne. A platter of starters sits before them.


Oh, how did they guess? This is one of my favourite starters.
Iberian ham, also called pata negra, is a type of cured ham produced only in Spain.



Apparently the finest iberico is called jamon iberico de bellota (acorn). This ham is from free-range pigs that roam oak forests along the border between Spain and Portugal, and eat only acorns during this last period. The exercise and the diet have a significant impact on the flavor of the meat - the ham is cured for 36 months.

I am not sure which iberico we had that night, but I sure hope it was the acorn eating sort. Actually from the generous amount of intramuscular fat, smooth texture and the rich, smoky, savoury flavour, I would guess probably, top grade. Anyway, the handsome Chef Francois Mermilliod did an excellent job carving it!


Also, when Hairy heard that the degustation menu had recently been changed, he hardly needed much persuasion to try it.
The Degustation menu consists of five dishes - three starters, a main and a dessert.

Sounds like the kind of mammoth eating challenge that Hairy loves to take on, if you ask me;)


The three starters were the Tartare of Hokkaido Scallops with Citrus, Wakame and Seaweed Tuile,

the Terrine of Foie Gras and Smoked Duck Breast with Herb Salad & Toasts,



and the Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly, Shimeji and a Fennel Salad, Star Anise Scented Jus.

We tried a bit of each and all were equally good. My favourite was the tiny morsel of pork belly - succulent, sweet flesh of the pig ,with just the right amount of melt in your mouth fat to give you small delightfully sinful mouthfuls of flavour, without overwhelming you.


The main of Grilled Grain Fed Beef Tenderloin Served with Parsnips Mash & Black Truffle Sauce. Cooked to perfection you can see the look on Hairy's face to know that it was good - he looked like a kid in a candy store;)


Here ends the first two parts of the degustation menu. Only dessert left to go. (Hairy said that he was still hungry and might consider supper later. I swear Hairy has four stomachs).


For the petite in size and appetite, there is always the Bouillabaisse. This is a classic French shellfish and fish stew. According to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. In Marseille, considered the mecca of bouillabaisse, they use at least seven, not counting the shellfish! Anyway, the bouillabaisse was delicious.. if I closed my eyes, each mouthful transported me back to the city of Marseille, the first place I ever tried this stew.



Finally, dessert! The Coconut Panacotta with Jubilee of Fresh Berries was exquisite. The black dots you see are the authentic vanilla beans and that's what made this dessert a winner. Fantastic taste with the smoothest texture.

At this point there was further talk of going in search of a Hokkien mee supper, but I chose to dismiss the crazy ramblings...


Valrhona dark chocolates to cleanse the palate. Lovely!


Finally no meal would be complete without paying tribute to the namesake of the restaurant itself - Absinthe! The restaurant manager Philippe Pau, prepared it for us himself. Philippe has got to be one of the most knowledgable, charming managers I have had the pleasure of meeting. It is true what scientists say - Absinthe drinkers you are not hallucinating/seeing the green fairy.. you are just truly drunk! (with concentrations as high as over 70 percent, I can see why.) In just under 3 minutes, Philippe gave us the entire history, fact/fantasy lesson on Absinthe. Oh, he's good.

What does that greenish liquid taste like? It tastes like liquorice. For the complete way of preparing Absinthe, go here.

Anyway, we had a fantastic dining experience at Absinthe. We highly recommend this place to anybody who appreciates good French food!


Add:
48 Bukit Pasoh Road.
Nearby Stations: Outram Park
Tel: 02-6222 9068

Degustation Menu: SD98++
Average price per head: SD150.


I have run out of things to write so I will end by telling you that the three great French poets of the era, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, were all prodigious absinthe drinkers, although direct references to the drink in their poems are surprisingly rare.

By far the most prolific of all absinthe-influenced poets was Raoul
Ponchon (1848 - 1937). Originally a bank employee, he quit his job
after his father's death in 1871, and set himself up at the age of 23
in a garret with the words "Painter and Lyrical Poet" written on the
door. Ponchon was astonishingly prolific, writing
150 000 verses, of which over 7000 were about food and drink,
including many dealing specifically with absinthe.

Here is the English translated Sonnet de l’Absinthe, for your reading pleasure (may you be sipping absinthe as you read it!)

Absinthe, ô ma liqueur alerte,
Il me semble quand je te bois
Boire l’âme des jeunes bois
Pendant la belle saison verte.

Absinthe, O my lively liquor,
It seems, when I drink you
I inhale the young forest’s soul
During the beautiful green season.

Ton frais parfum me déconcerte
Et dans ton opale je vois
Des cieux habités autrefois
Comme par une porte ouverte.

Your perfume disconcerts me
And in your opalescence
I see the full heavens of yore,
As through an open gate.

Qu’importe, ô recours des maudits,
Que tu sois un vain paradis,
Sit tu contentes mon envie;

What matter, O refuge of the damned,
That you a vain paradise be,
If you appease my need;

Et si, devant que j’entre au port,
Tu me fais supporter la vie,
En m’habituant à la mort.

And if, before I enter the gate,
You make me put up with life,
By accustoming me to death.

RAOUL PONCHON


Read another great one here entitled Five o'clock Absinthe.


THE END.

ION Orchard

I am in Singapore this week!

Orchard Road.. shopping mecca.. and now, ION Orchard:)

The first shop ever on Orchard Road was TANGS founded in 1934 and established on Orchard Road in the 1950s.

Orchard Road is flanked by pedestrian malls. The latest addition, ION Orchard has the distinction of also being a future residential area and has a fantastic, modern facade.

I really like this place - it looks sleek, cool and calculated. A true Ice Maiden.

All the my favourite shops under one roof, i.e. over 300 retail, F&B and entertainment stores, which includes luxury brands, international brands and popular high street fashion and lifestyle stores all housed in funky, innovative retailing concept stores. Paradise!

ION Orchard photos from here .

Yea, I was prepared to shop till I dropped... but first, lunch!

The Nautilus Project - Contemporary Pan Asian cuizine, specializing in seafood. Many of the dishes are influenced by the Mediterranean, Californian and South East Asian cuizine. If you click on the link, you will read that this place is owned by an Indonesian, conceived by a Swede and branded by a Brit. How exotic. The restaurant is operated by the Prime Society group which also operates a steak house restaurant at Dempsey.

Anyway, the most appealing thing to me on the menu was the fact that this place offers lunch specials such as raw oysters + a glass of prosecco at only SD45. What a steal.
However, since my stomach was tender and empty, I went for the Oceanic Platter instead. Oh, and also, a glass of prosecco, of course.

The total bill set me back by only SD40.00, but I ate till I was stuffed.

The seafood was fresh with crisp, clean flavours. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch.

Add:
The Nautilus Project - Fishtaurant & Ice Bar,
2 Orchard Turn,
#04-09 ION Orchard

As for the shopping, I didn't have time to photograph a lot because my hands were full (of shopping!) but I will say this.. Custo Barcelona has got to be my favourite shop of the lot.
Custo Barcelona was created by two brothers, Custo (surprise, surprise..) & David Dalmu.

The Californian lifestyle, expressed in the look of surfers living in the southern part of the state is the basis of their creation, evident in their colourful fashion. The use of textures, colour combinations and printed patterns is a common theme - the designs are great.. street-wear that also looks sophisticated.

The outfits look good, wear comfortably and most importantly, do not cost an arm and a leg.

I hope Custo comes to KL soon;)

Finally, I checked out SINS - Singapore's multi-award winning chocolatiers. Apparently SINS is famous for coming up with new ideas in creating unusual tastes in chocolates.

I tried their dark chocolate cookies for a quick snack, in case I got hungry later at the hotel. Crunchy when eaten fresh, and with a rich ambrosial flavour - this later made the perfect midnight snack with milk.

(Oh dear, how will I stay slim on this trip I wonder.. :P)

to be continued..

Herbal Tea Man on Jalan Pasar

Whenever Cumi has a sore-throat or is feeling a little too much "heat" in his body, he drags me to visit the herbal medicinal tea man, on Jalan Pasar.

For me, coming from a scientific background, I honestly do not trust the brown stuff/powder that the old man mixes into the herbal tea. It tastes gross for starters, really bitter and also, if I cannot read the labeled ingredients, I do not trust the contents.

However, Cumi swears by it. Apparently, from the look of things, so do a lot of other people, including children. Cumi says that it actually relaxes his body and makes him feel sleepy.. and he's right as rain the next day! Well, whatever works for you baby.

Sage & Lyrical Lemongrass' Surprise Birthday Lunch

Who does not like surprises?

Most people do.

Anyway, the stage was set and the people lay in wait for LL to appear.

The venue: Sage at the Gardens..
The time:12.45pm




At 1pm sharp LL arrives and we all yell... SURPRISE!


"Awww, so sweet la you guys.. I swear I didn't know!"

Phew... we came this close to spilling the beans but luckily, the surprise was still a surprise;)


Anyway, on to lunch. The set menu at Sage is quite a steal as you can see. Only RM100 for a 4 course lunch.



The Vichyssoise of Hokkaido Scallop with Grated Summer Truffle - creamy, smooth and slinks down your throat effortlessly. The scallop was so fresh it was almost still moving, i.e. it was served sashimi style... raw. The truffle flavour infused the entire dish.


The foie gras (on the left) Quail (on the right) did not disappoint. Rich, gamy with a cutesy tiny quail drumstick to match. The smaller the bird the more tasty the flesh - I totally agree!


The Braised Wagyu Cheek with Dauphinoise Potato and Fine Beans - Incredibly melt-away in texture with a strong gamy taste that only some people enjoy.. and believe me, I enjoy!


The first photo was a picture of the Wagyu on LL's plate. This photo is a picture of my own Wagyu. I think it really looks like the Matterhorn, right?


The Matterhorn - Swiss Alps.


No wonder bakers have such huge muscle... from lifting plates! This is fbb and Nigel of Just Heavenly, drinking up whatever sauce remains at the bottom of the plate. The Roasted Seabass with Prawn in Mushroom sauce was excellent to say the least.
Good to the last drop!


For dessert, the Earl Gray Bavarois with Chocolate Sorbet and Ginger Confiture. Another fantastic concoction - smooth, creamy, gelatin texture with a strong Earl Gray flavour this was really a great dessert.


French Farm Cheese - A rather small portion but if you had the earlier dishes, this would have just been a good size for dessert.


Time for cake! This cute little pavlova courtesy of FBB, made just of LL, with much love. Also, cupcakes from Su of Delectable to complete the birthday celebration!

Pressie opening time, so say Cheese!
Happy Birthday LL.. hope all your dreams come true:)

Rice Cafe

Rice Cafe..

we go here to eat rice!

The set is extremely affordable. Set Nasi Lemak is just under RM10 but the best thing about this is the accompanying crispy, sizzling, freshly fried, FRIED chicken!

For variety, try the lemongrass fried chicken - the herbs are superb.. so good you end up eating the skin first (as in the picture above).


This place is also famous for their assam laksa. I am not normally a fan of the assam laksa because I find most assam soups in KL thin, lacking in fish and taste.
The Assam Laksa soup at Rice Cafe is so thick you can do a head-stand on it:P

Add the 'har-ko'(black prawn paste) and take the flavour up a notch.

Most excellent.


Finally, wash whatever remnants of grease away with the sour-sweet calamansi...,



..because you will need it once you have finished guzzling your assam laksa sauce!


Add:
Rice Cafe,
Lorong Maarof,
Bangsar.

Pot Luck

No, no.. these are not Manhunt Malaysia's finalists..

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..but rather, part of the hungry MOB at Pey2's Fabulous PotLuck, hosted at Nigel's!

1. FBB and wife - Pear & Ginger and Spinster/Spencer
2. Ciki & Qwazymunky - Charsiew from Paramount Gardens
3. Pey Pey - Chocolates with essential oils
4. Unkaleong & TNG - Roast Duck from Loong Foong
6. La Couple Toy - Meatballs
8. Bangsar Babe - Potato Salad
9. Jonas & Hua - Ma Po Tofu & Cold Szechuan Chicken
10. Allan & Nigel - Asian Pesto Pasta
11. Luscious Lemongrass and Bald Eagle - Ciki's fried chicken from Ah Fatt, accompanied with story (!)
12. Girl from Abu Dhabi -Charsiew
13. Paprika & Hunky - Pomelo Salad with Abalone
14. Hairyberry - Moussaka and pizza
15. Chian Tyng - Siu yoke dunno fr where
16. Cordon bleu chef- Siu yoke fr Wong Kee
17. Su of Delectable - Savoury pastries..
& last but not least,
18. World famous Honey Sparkling Sea Coconut with Lime - The Devil Wears Prada!

Here is the 1/2 way mark, of the makan session. Ciki was too full to move her belly, so Hairberry took these really cool shots of some half consumed dishes, with her camera.

After a quick break, round 2 and round 3 resumed!

How in tarnations did they fit so many people into one house... ?

Well... It takes the skill of a few bakers, the cunning of several monkeys, the swift flight of an eagle, the charm of a couple of babes, the prowess of a queen and the fitness of an uncle to do so!

Erm.. Who let the monkeys out?!

PG18 only :P