Resort World Singapore @ Sentosa

Em... ever since Universal Studios, Singapore open to public access on 18 March 2010, it has being my thought to bring Rey to take a look at the newly renovated Waterfront Station and Theme Park in Sentosa.

Today is an sunny Saturday morning, we decided to have a some light Dim Sum breakfast at Xin Fu Yin Cha - 幸福饮茶 stall that is located at Food Republic in Vivo City Lvl 3. The furnishing in the stall was in wooden-style chairs and tables which make it look like those 60s -70s stall. Although it's about 10.00am in the morning, there is a lot of people queuing up to grab their favourite dim sum. Overall, we are still very satisfy with their ingredients but the price over here it's rather the same as those in it's main restaurant.

From Vivo City, we took the Sentosa Express near the ticketing station outside Food Republic at level 3. The Sentosa Pass is available at S$3.00 per person per day at the Sentosa Express station. You can also enter the island via Sentosa Express using your ez-link card which shorten your time of queuing up during weekend crowds.

At about less than 10 minutes train ride, we reached Waterfront Station. We were so shock with it's new outlook and changes compare to the previous musical fountain, orchid garden, fish pond and etc that this place used to have.

I am sure everyone will not lost their way because there are a lot of interesting signboards and direction sign. About 100m away from the Waterfront Station, you will reach "The Bull Ring" where you will find some Gifts and Collectibles retail stores as well as "Chili's Grill & Bar" at the corner.

Other than retail and food stores along the side of "The Bull Ring". This area also marks the Entrance to the "Universal Studios, Singapore". Despite of the "high" pricing, I was shock that the ticket for the day can be SOLD OUT even before noon time. Em.... that shows that a lot of people are still willing to pay for the price to go in......... If you wish to know more about the pricing, perhaps you can take a look Here. And if you are interested to pop-by maybe you can consider to book your ticket on line in advance to avoid disappointment :)

After walking around here and there, it's time to take a break, rest the feet and have a cup of coffee/tea. From far, it's not difficult to spot "Coffee Bean" and the opposite end of the bull ring at "The Forum". For our tea-break, we had ice-mocha blended and a slice of their raspberry cake. I love the environment here, it's so peaceful under the bright morning sun..... enjoy my cup of coffee and cake gives me the feeling of "I am on Holiday" mood.........

"The Forum" consists of two level of retail, banking services, restaurants and etc. You will be able to spot Hard Rock Cafe at level 1 just a few steps away from Coffee Bean. Other than food, you also can see DBS and HL banking......

2nd big attraction of Resort World will be it's Casino that is located at the ground level of "The Forum". After taking the escalator beside "Lake of Dreams", we finally saw the Grand entrance of the Casino. All Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents must have a valid Casino Entry Levy (S$100.00 for 24 hrs) to enter the casino. And you will be surprised to see that beautiful "Lamborghin" outside the Casino entrance that will be given out to the Jackpot winner.

Look at the photo of the fountain on the left, that is the "Lake of Dreams" which is a unique musical extravaganza where fire, water and light are the stars of the show. Further down on the stretch, you will come across "Festive Terrace" which is surround by Hotel Michael and Crockfords Tower. Inside Crockfords Tower, they are range of branded shops in Galleria walk.

Look at these beautiful scenic, all these are taken during the Sentosa Express train ride. Sentosa really changes a lot during these past 5 - 10 years and every time you will be surprised when you get there :)

P/s: For more photos of the trip check us out @ Cuisine Paradise Fan Page, click HERE.

Red Star Restaurant

"Red Star Restaurant - 红星酒家" located at level 7 of the HBD block in Chin Swee Road. From the official website, you can read about the history of this restaurant which is set up by two chef in around 1974. The operating hours starts from as early as 7am daily which they offer all kinds of hot piping dim sums that are ordered from push trolleys.

Since my in-laws was around Chinatown area doing some shopping, we decided to meet up for dim sum - 点心 lunch since this restaurant is somewhere near my working area. Since lunch hour was pretty rush for me, I didn't really have much time accompany them throughout the whole session. But they will very thoughtful, while waiting for me to arrive, they already ordered some of my favourite dishes to avoid the waiting time.

Although I personally prefer "Siu Mai - 烧卖" more than "Har Gua - 虾饺" but I find that the Har Gua that served here are very fresh, the wheat starch skin that used to wrapped the prawn was thin and the prawn filling it in is crunchy and sweet compare to most of the dim sum stall.

Next comes my favour which is the "Siu Mai - 烧卖", the serving here is just nice for the size as some outlet are serving those extra big size which making it feel so greasy upon eating. The fillings of the siu mai consists of ground pork, shrimp and chinese mushroom that is wrapped with a yellowish skin and there is often an orange dot on the center.

I am not sure what is this dish called, but it is wrapped with ground pork, prawns and chinese chives with a skin that is similar to dumpling skin. The taste was quite ok for me as the chives taste did not actually over powder the rest of the ingredients.

"Century Egg and Pork Porridge - 皮蛋瘦肉粥" is one of the most common Congee that customers will order while having dim sum. Normally, they will also have Chicken/Pork/Fish Congee in the menu, but the most popular orders will still be this century Egg & pork porridge.

"Fung Zhao - 鳳爪" are chicken feet that are being deep fried, boiled, marinated in a black bean sauce and then steamed. This cause the texture to be light and fluffy, while moist and tender on the inner area. When having dim sum with my mum, we will always ordered at least two plates of this because we simply love this dish due to it braising sauce.

"Fried Wontons - 炸馄饨" which is a great finger food to go with some mayonnaise dipping sauce for both adults and kids. This dish has to be served hot while the so that you can take the crispness of the wonton skin and the juicy filling in it.

Lastly, after all the steam and deep-fry food, it time to settle with something sweet to end with the meal. My in-laws are having "Black sesame paste - 芝麻糊" while me and my sis-in-law each grab a bowl of this "Almond Jelly - 杏仁豆腐" with Longan. The taste of this almond jelly is light for those who don't really keen with the Almond taste/fragrance. But to me, I still prefer those with a stronger almond taste flavour.

Dim Sum @ Mayim Chinese Cuisine

Remember my archives post on the newly open branch of this Mayim - 天乐里 Chinese Cuisine Restaurant @ Northpoint. Finally, after the 3rd week of their grand opening and long queuing we managed to pop-in this afternoon to sample some of their afternoon tea dishes.

They have a eye-catching menu that consists a wide varieties of dishes range from snacks to main course and dessert and I am sure you will be able to find something that suits your taste bud. For a start, we ordered 3 of their signature Fragrance Tea which is serves in individual earthen tea-pot:-

1) Jasmin Tea With Rose Buds (红玫瑰香片): Out of the tea shown in the menu, this is one of my favourite tea due to the name and ingredients used which gives the tea a sweet and fragrance aroma when taste. These dried natural rose petal is often regarded as a health supplement which can be consume regularly to help in blood circulation and digestion.

2) "Shou Mei" With Wolfberry (寿楣杞子茶): This tea has an interesting meaning of "Longevity " due to the word "寿" in Chinese character. Shou Mei(寿楣) is a white tea that is produced from naturally withered upper leaf and tips that has a stronger flavor reminiscent of lighter Oolong teas.

3) "Pu Erh" With Chrysanthemum (贡菊普洱茶) : This tea is the combination of Pu Erh and Gong Ju(a varity of chrysanthemum). The use of Chrysanthemum aid in recovery from influenza, acne and as well act as a "cooling" herb. It is believed to be effective in treating eye pain associated with stress or yin fluid deficiency.

Despite of the crowds, they service was still good and prompt when serving the dishes. The first item to set on the table is this "Spiced and Sour Lai Main served dry with minced pork - 酸辣炸酱干伴面". The taste of the sauce was just nice and it wasn't too spicy for us too. The texture of the noodle was "Q" and overall this dish worth at least 7/10 which cost @ the price of S$6.30 per plate.

Since it's almost 3pm in the afternoon, we decided to grab some "Dim Sum" items on their list. We ordered the Pan-fried Turnip Cake (香煎萝卜糕) with Chinese Sausage and Pan-fried Gyoza (生煎锅贴饺) with Ginger Vinegar. I personally love their pan-fried gyoza which when you bite on the crispy outer skin, the parcel will erupt with some sauce or soup like gravy which make the gyoza so tasty and juicy.

This "Steamed Vermicelli Roll with Crispy Golden Roll - 脆皮与旺肠" is an interesting item to us. It different from the usual "Chee Cheong Fan (猪肠粉)" which is wrapped with shrimp or char siu. This is a double-wrapping version where the inner layer is wrapped using spring-roll with shredded turnip, mushroom, carrot and etc then deep-fry until golden and crispy. After which, they will be wrapped with another layer of steam vermicelli skin and served with their special dipping sauce.

Beside the above, we also ordered a few more items on their Dim Sum list which cost only S$2.00 each item:-

1) Steamed Spiced Chicken Feet with Peanuts - 辣味蒸凤爪: The texture of the steamed chicken feet is soft and tasty with the combination of their special sauce. Other than the usual chicken feet, you can even find some stewed peanut that comes in it for that extra crunch and taste. I love the combi of the sauce and the chicken feet, it is not too oily nor salty, it has just the right taste.

2) Shanghai "Xiao Long Bao" - 上海小笼饱: Typically, I love the taste of those Shanghai Xiao Long Tang Bao - 小笼包, especially the one from Din Tai Feng. So when I saw this item from their Dim Sum menu, I decided to order a plate. To our surprised, the dumpling is place inside another small aluminum cup instead of the usual one that is place on top of baking paper or Chinese cabbage. Although the appearance might not be attractive, but you will be caught in surprised with the "herbal taste" like soup that flows out from the dumpling when you bite at it. But the "soup" might be a bit greasy and salty to those who prefer a lightly taste.

3) Healthy Brown Rice - 健康活力煲饭: This can be found under their Fragrance Fried Rice Menu is a must to try for those healthy conscience folks. This is indeed a very colourful and nutrition dish which consists of mixture of rice and brown rice with carrot, celery, black bean, black fungus, yam, peanut & red bean. On a glance of it, you might not see all the ingredients but when you start tugging in your spoon or chopstick, you will find a lot treasure hidden beneath. This is definitely worth at the price of S$2.00 per rice bowl.

By then when we have finished the above, we are already too full to have any dessert. So I guess shall wait till next round when we try their Ala Cart dish before we have another chance to venture into their dessert. Till then, I can suggest that this is rather a good place for a cosy meal at an afforable price for family and friends. So do check up for the nearest branch near you at their website @ Mayim location.

Mayim Chinese Cuisine

This is a very special Chinese Cuisine restaurant called "MAYIM - 天乐里" which is going to open soon in Northpoint (义顺纳福坊) at the 2nd story. They have a nice window view which is directly facing the Yishun MRT track and I also love their interior decoration and food varieties which consists a mixture food fusion.

Here is a preview of their menu outside the restaurant. From the look of it you will be looking forward to give a try on their actual dish in no time. The price range of the dishes are reasonable and affordable too. If you can't wait for the branch at Northpoint to open, you can also visit their main branch at 1 Bukit Batok Central Link,#02-04, West Mall, Singapore 658713 Tel: 6794 1590

I will update more on their cuisine after I get to try out their cuisine in the Northpoint branch which is going to open soon.