Angry Birds Mugs Exclusively from 7-Eleven

For those Angry Birds fans from Singapore, I am sure most of you are aware of this Angry Birds Mugs promotion from 7-Eleven outlets(island wide) starting from 28 March till 05 June 2012(while stocks last). With a minimum spend of S$3.00 at any 7-11 outlets you would  received a similar stamp(s) shown below.

And for your information items purchase excludes cigarettes, parking coupons, bill payments, top-up services, telco top-up cards, cash card, EZ-Link card, lottery sales, Angry birds mug purchase and fuel purchases at 7-Eleven @ Shell.

IKEA - Our All-times Family Favourite

About two weeks ago I was invited to attend a "behind scene" tour at IKEA, Tampines to get to know more about their showrooms, store operations, restaurant and etc. It was a very wonderful trip where each and everyone of us was given a chance to know and see IKEA store in another aspect of view apart from what we used to know.

We were all very excited while stepping into their showroom on level 4 as we were all enlighten by their range of Christmas Dining setup at the entrance which brings out the the warm festive feelings in our heart too.

When process further, we were introduced to these IKEA showrooms where you could find lots of inspiring ideas and furnishings in realistic room settings which are similar to our living environments. For example most of the furnishings ideas from IKEA, Tampines emerged from the flour area and layout of the newer estate near their area such as Sengkang and Punggol.

And it is in these showrooms that we can try out their furniture; fall asleep in a bed, stretch out on a sofa, or even let our kids make their own decision to choose furniture for their rooms.

Despite of dealing with furniture and food, I didn't know at IKEA whenever we purchase "soft toy" at any of their outlets (Alexandra/Tampines), the IKEA foundation will actually donates €1.00(S$1.75) to help educate kids from UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund) which is a very meaningful contribution that we could help and take part in.

And for the month of November till 24 December 2011, IKEA will also donates €1.00(S$1.75) whenever we purchased soft toy or kid's meal(chicken nuggets) to the UNICEF in order to help more children to have quality education.

IKEA Restaurant is located at level 4, beside the Children's IKEA where you can take a break from shopping with some coffee and cake or even breakfast/dinner. And in the restaurant, you'll find healthy Swedish and local daily dishes at really low prices too. In order to cater families with kids, the restaurant is child-friendly with high chairs and a play area as well as special menu just for kids.

For your information, IKEA Restaurant is serving Christmas Dishes such as Christmas Platter, Marinated Herring Gratin, Mini Log Cake and etc where you can take a look at the menu on their website HERE.

Located at the end of Level 3, Market Hall. I am sure most of you are familiar with these racks and boxes that are found in the IKEA, Self Serve Furniture Area. The concept of these self-pick up methods came from their very first store where the demand was so great that the furniture wasn’t being provided fast enough to the consumers. So in order to please their consumers, IKEA opened their warehouse and allowed consumers to take whatever they wanted to buy and proceed straight to the payment counter.

After we have completed the tour, the next excitement we had for that night was we were invited to dine-in at their Co-workers Restaurant which is located at the back alley of the main restaurant. The design, layout and food menu of their staffs restaurant are pretty similar to what we see at their IKEA restaurant too.

For dinner, I tried their Cheese Baked Saithe (from the 3 choices) which I think is not available on their IKEA restaurant menu. Saithe is also known as coley which is a white fish with firm flesh that is very popular in Germany. I love the taste  and texture of this dish which is served together with some potato and carrot, hope it will be available in their restaurant menu soon.

Lastly I would like to thank IKEA and Pearlin from one9ninety for this wonderful IKEA behind scene tour.

Sweetens This Festive Season with Häagen-Dazs

Photos courtesy of Haagen-Dazs

Celebrate the season of giving with your loved ones this Christmas and enjoy irresistible dine-in creations from Royal Fondue, Love in Paradise and Christmas Cassata which are readily available for order at all Haagen-Dazs outlets from 1 Nov 2011 - 2 Jan 2012. Plus you can redeem 2 complimentary tickets to enjoy a 45 minutes bus-ride along Orchard road on their specially-decorated Haagen-Dazs double-decker bus and indulge in free-flowing Haagen-Dazs ice cream and etc with a minimum amount spent(terms and condition applies).

If not you can also surprise and pamper your loved ones this season with the unexpected gift of Häagen-Dazs where you can make a selection between 2 sets of gift hampers to convey your message of love and joy to family and friends. The Royal Celebration (S$60.00 nett) gift set shown above comes with 3 pints of your choice, a Secret Sensations twin pack and a S$20.00 gift voucher. Whereas The Festive Treasure (S$34.85 nett) gift set comes in a limited-edition cooler bag with 2 pints of your choice and a Secret Sensations twin pack.

Photos courtesy of Haagen-Dazs

Christmas Party can never go without a decent log cake for dessert. So for the chocoholics in the family, the luxurious Chocolate Colysee (S$80.00+) log cake which is deliciously rich with Belgian Chocolate ice cream and irresistible Macadamia Nut ice cream that topped with chocolate curls and marshmallow stars must not be missed from the party menu.

If you are looking for something special with festive colors that is bound to light up any party perhaps Rainbow Log (S$80.00+) might be an excellent choice. This log cake consists of many all-time favorite ice cream and sorbet flavours, such as Chocolate, Vanilla, Green Tea, Macadamia Nut, Mango Sorbet and Raspberry Sorbet which I am sure there is bound to be a flavour that you like.

Photos courtesy of Haagen-Dazs

For those who chose to dine-in, the Royal Fondue (S$48.00++) that comes with four popular flavours (Belgian Chocolate, Caramel Biscuit and Cream, Chocolate, and Vanilla coated in almond nibs) and decadent accompaniments such as freshly baked waffles, marshmallows, brownies, bananas, kiwis and strawberries that you could never resist the temptation.

But if you prefer to take away your ice cream and enjoy it while strolling along the way, do try the Joyous Crunch (S$10.50 nett) that comes with rich Belgian Chocolate ice cream and decadent Crème Brulee ice cream. Or if you prefer something with coffee taste, go for their Christmas Delight (S$10.50 nett) with scoops of Tiramisu ice cream and decadent Crème Brulee ice cream. For your information these two take away choices served with crunchy waffle bits or in a cone depending on your preference.

Photos courtesy of Haagen-Dazs

Lastly, in order to experience the “Journey of Indulgence”, customers have to spend a minimum of S$50.00 (dine-in only, before service charge and GST) at any Häagen-Dazs café to receive two complimentary tickets to the bus. There will be three rides a day at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm, from 19 November 2011 to 4 December 2011.

Each "Journey of Indulgence" will start and end at Häagen-Dazs Esplanade cafe with a 45 minutes ride along the CBD area and culminating in a trip down the beautifully-lit Orchard Road. Come onboard a specially-decorated Haagen-Dazs double-decker bus and indulge in free-flowing Haagen-Dazs ice cream, gourmet chocolates and bubbly champagne.

Aloha Tropical X'mas @ Crystal Jade 2011

Photos courtesy of Crystal Jade

This year December, Crystal Jade is aiming to bring Christmas menu convenience to celebrations in both home and office where they injects local flavor into its festive take-away menu with dishes like Roasted Home Recipe Turkey, Smoked Duck Breast and Ham Wellington together with some pies, log cakes, desserts and etc.

The above Crystal Jade’s Roasted Home Recipe Turkey ($78.00, approx. 3.5-4.5kg) is prepared the day itself before collection with it right combination of east and west seasonings that include five spice, orange juice, oregano and more leaving you an exotic taste.

Photos courtesy of Crystal Jade

As for the Christmas package, it comes in either Premium Tropical Xmas Package(S$128.00) for parties of 6 - 8 persons or this Deluxe Aloha Package (S$330.00) for parties of 15 - 18 persons. With these professional cooked dishes it will definitely leaves you with more time to catch up with your guests. And as you can see from the above it comprises of:

~ 1 Mixed Fruit Tropical Christmas Cake
~ 1 Roasted Whole Home Recipe Turkey with Herbs and Spices
~ 1 Honey Baked Ham
~ 2 plates of Aloha Fried Rice with Pork Floss
~ 16 pieces Fried Almond Fish Fingers
~ 16 pieces Pork Skewer with Teriyaki Sauce
~ 16 Mushroom Vol-Au-Vent
~ 16 pieces Sambal Crabmeat Vol-Au-Vent
~ 16 pieces Cheese & Bacon Croquette
~ 16 pieces Mini Spicy Minced Pork and Bean Pie

Photos courtesy of Crystal Jade

Kids at the party will be thrilled with all these Tropical Cutie Cupcake(S$14.80/6 pcs) that are decorated with cute Christmas theme toppers. These cupcakes comes in 3 different theme at price ranging from S$12.80 - S$14.80 for 6 pieces which is a great treat for kids' party at childcare or Sunday school too.

For your information there is a also an exclusive 10 - 15% discount for CITIBANK Card members while making orders. All Christmas orders starts from Wednesday, 16 Nov 2011 - 02 January 2012(terms and conditions applies).

You can call their Party Hotline @ 6512 0800 (Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 6pm excluding public holidays) or visit their festive promotion website HERE.

Bosch Original Recipe Contest with Bosch MUM 54230

Photos courtesy of BSH Home Appliances Pte Ltd

Christmas is approaching soon with the Lunar New Year just a month later. With all the roasting and baking to be done you might want to consider getting some help from the new Bosch Styline MUM 5 All-In-One Kitchen Machine. And in conjunction with your purchase Bosch is running an Original Recipe Contest, whereby 10 winners will stand a chance to win 100% reimbursement in their purchase as well as feature of their recipe in the Bosch Recipe Book. Best of all ONE of the lucky winner will also walk away with the above "Bosch Classic Edition Refrigerator" worth S$2,299. 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Step 1: Purchase a Bosch MUM8, MUM5 kitchen machine or MCM 4 food processor (detail HERE)
(available at Courts, Harvey Norman, Best Denki (S) Pte Ltd,Carrefour Singapore Pte Ltd andRobinsons, The Centrepoint)

Step 2: Create your own original dessert using your Bosch MUM 54230.

Step 3: Submit your recipe and a picture of your creation HERE by 30th November 2011 for a chance to win.

Photos courtesy of BSH Home Appliances Pte Ltd

The new Bosch Styline MUM 5 All-In-One Kitchen Machine is equipped with proven Bosch technology that will enable even an inexperienced cook to prepare fabulous home-cooked food and goodies. The machine functions on an intuitive Bosch operating concept and the three-dimensional Multi-Motion Drive mixing system that ensures first-class pastry processing in mixing ingredients perfectly.

BROWNIES A LA BOSCH

Photos courtesy of BSH Home Appliances Pte Ltd

Here is a complimentary recipes from Bosch where you can Indulge your guests with delectable brownies, an all-time favourite, made using the Bosch Styline MUM 5 Kitchen Machine.

(make: 20 x 30cm size tin | Preparation: 15 minutes |  Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
100g Hazelnuts
250g Soft Butter
200g Icing Sugar
6 Eggs (medium)
175g Plain Flour
100g Ground Hazelnuts
60g Cocoa Powder
3 Tablespoons Ground Espresso Coffee
100g Dark Chocolate

Method:-

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan oven 180°C). Roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.

2. Take the nuts out of the oven, gently rub the shells with a kitchen towel, and allow them to cool down. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (fan oven 160°C).

3. Use the blender attachment. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and then the chocolate (separately).

4. In the mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until fluffy. Sit in the eggs one after the other.

5. Stir the nuts, chocolate, flour, ground nuts and espresso powder into the egg and butter mixture.

6. Line brownie tin with a broad strip of greaseproof paper. Transfer the mixture to the tin and smooth over. Place it on the second lowest rack in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

7. Remove the tin from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Remove the brownies from the tin, cutting them lengthways into rectangles or small squares.

8. For a touch of Christmas magic, dust with icing sugar.

If you are looking for a new mixer this coming festive season or you have already owned a set of this Bosch MUM 5, remember to send in your "secret" recipe to stand a chance to win the fabulous Bosch Classic Edition Refrigerator shown above. More detail at Bosch official website HERE.

New Dishes From Golden Village Gold Class Lounges

It has being ages since I last step into cinema to enjoy a good movie as well as pamper myself  at their Gold Class Lounges. Recently Golden Village (GV) has introduce a new Gold Class menu with a mix of hearty Western delights as well as contemporary local favourites to bring an exclusive and luxurious movie experience within the Golden Village Multiplex. (Gold Class is available at GV VivoCity and GV Grand)

These GV's Gold Class signature dishes are prepared by Executive Chef Chris Foo and Chef de Cuisine Ronnie Ng, backed with almost 50 years of combined culinary experience in French, Continental, Chinese and Singapore cuisines.

Golden Abalone Soup Noodles @ S$18.00

(*New / Exclusive to GV VivoCity) 

If you are looking for something to pamper yourself after a hectic work week while enjoying the movie, perhaps you might want to consider a bowl of this Golden Abalone Soup Noodles. It consists of homemade rich abalone broth served with noodles and accompanied by seafood dumplings, tiger prawn and abalone. And this dish is food for the soul, presenting a hearty yet comfortable option especially for rainy day.

Trio of Desserts @ S$14.00

(*New / Available at both GV VivoCity and GV Grand)

For those who craving for dessert and cannot decide on which to choose; a sugary combination of Cinnamon Praline Mousse, Wild Cherry Almond Tart and Blueberry Pannacotta will be a great choice to delight any sweet tooth.

Diners may also choose to indulge in the 3-course Gold Class Set Menu at S$30.00 / S$33.00 which includes a choice of one appetizer, one main course, and dessert, served with coffee or TWG Tea, or soft drinks of their choice. And all GV Movie Club members also gets to enjoy a 10% off menu prices at Golden Village Gold Class by presenting their card before payment. For more details, you can visit www.gv.com.sg

Crystal Jade Tea And Wine Mooncake for Mid-Autumn

With Mid-Autumn festival around the corner, Crystal Jade has a wide selection of traditional mooncakes as well as some New contemporary ones. Their traditional flavours include White Lotus Paste, White Lotus Paste with Double or Four Yolks, Red Lotus Paste with Single Yolk or Double Yolk, Mixed Nuts and Ham(翡翠金华火腿) and Mini Traditional Mooncakes.

As for its more contemporary offerings, Crystal Jade has combined two distinctive flavours into one creation with its Cognac Coffee Mini Snow Skin Mooncake - 干邑咖啡 (brown colour, middle row), Red Wine and Cranberry Mini Snow Skin Mooncake - 红酒蔓越莓 (pink colour, top row) for wine lovers with it's full-bodied blend of red wine leaving a lingering note on the tongue together with coupled with a sweet cranberry goodness.

If liquor is not your choice, perhaps some Crystal Jade’s tea-infused snowskin mooncake such as Green Tea and Plum Mini Snow Skin Mooncake - 绿茶梅子 (green colour, front row) that comes with a lovely concentration of forest aromas will be a refreshing treats for you. We love its hint of plum taste lingering between those fragrant green tea paste which balance the overall sweetness.

For some light and healthier version of Mooncake, you can also try this New Crystal Jade’s Western Konnyaku Jelly Mooncake floral tea series (S$4.80/ each). These include the Roselle And Hawthorn Konnyaku Mooncake - 洛神花山楂蒟蒻月饼, Honey Chrysanthemum Konnyaky Mooncake - 菊花蜜蒟蒻月饼, Jasmine Green Tea Konnyaku Mooncake - 茉莉绿茶蒟蒻月饼 and Osmanthus and Plum Konnyaku Mooncake - 桂花乌梅蒟蒻月饼.

Or if floral tea series is not towards your desire, then go for their Aloe Vera Konnyaku Mooncake - 芦荟蜜蒟蒻月饼 which consists juicy bits of aloe vera that adds a refreshing and delicious texture to your bites.

For DBS/POSB Credit and Debit Cardmembers, there is a n exclusive 15% discount for all traditional and western mooncake gift sets. You can refer to Crystal Jade on-line "Mooncakes Leaflet" for more details on the pricing and flavour available HERE.

New Zealand Natural $1 OFF Hot And Cold Lunch Treat plus "The Launch"

Apart from my recent post about New Zealand Natural(NZN) promotion on their FREE 1 PINT Ice-Cream(read more HERE) there is another new promotion for the month of JULY (01 July - 31 July 2011) which I saw from their Facebook page. This promotion is ONLY at their HarbourFront outlet which is great for those who work or hang around HarbourFront Shopping Mall

As you can see from the promotion leaflet above there will be a S$1.00 OFF when you make any purchase of hot food such as pasta, pizza or hotdogs (including a Free cup of either hot of ice coffee) OR regular-sized ice-cream which makes it a perfect deal for your lunch/tea break.

Furthermore I heard from a few friends who loves NZN ice-cream, there will be a GREAT LAUNCH on their 6 Most Popular Flavour ice-cream from this July onwards at appointed supermarket outlets. With this launch it means we can easily purchase NZN Ice-cream at a more convenient locations spreading across Singapore other than their 9 ice-cream parlous(location HERE).

SIX MOST POPULAR FLAVOURS

New Zealand Natural Ice-Cream

These premium no artificial flavouring and colouring ice-cream which from New Zealand comes in 473ml tubs with new packaging distinct from those available at the local ice-cream parlours.

Forest Berry:
~ 97% Fat free yogurt made with real boysen berries and 3 other berries

Hokey Pokey:
~ Crunchy butterscotch balls, folded into creamy honey-combed ice-cream

Classic Vanilla:
~ Smooth vanilla ice cream made with fresh cream

Mango Sorbet:
99% fat free, non-dairy luscious mango sorbet, made with real mango

Cookies and Cream:
~ Crushed chocolate cookies dunked in creamy vanilla ice-cream

Chocolate Ecstasy:
~ Rich chocolate fudge, swirled through NZN’s famous chocolate ice-cream

For your information these NZN ice-creams are "EXCLUSIVELY" available ONLY at Cold Storage Supermarket's 40 over outlets island wide at S$12++ per 473ml tub. So start to spot and grab a tub or two of these new eye-catching New Zealand Natural premium ice-creams on your next visit to Cold Storage. Now I am excited to try out one of their 6 Most Popular Flavour like Hokey Pokey.

Get your FREE 1 PINT treat from New Zealand Natural

Heard from one of my facebook friends that New Zealand Natural has an on-going promotion that goes just well to help you cool off in the hot and humid weather starting from May 2011 till 24 July 2011. Whenever you buy 1 Quart of ice-cream you will receive another 1 Pint(worth S$11.80) absolutely FREE! So why not take advantage of these great savings and stock up your freezer with some of your favourite choice today !
Price: $$20.40 per quart of ice-cream

Try some of the yummy flavour at their New Zealand Natural Cafe at NEX Shopping Mall last week after our dinner and it taste really good despite on either Ice-Cream, Sorbet or Yoghurt. Here we ordered, "Superfruit Sensation"(front) which is Sorbet with pomegranate, goli berry, blackcurrant and passionfruit combined with mango juice blend with blueberry and ice. It taste really refreshing with fruity fragrance and the sweetness is just right for our preference.
Price: S$4.20 per scoop

This "Forest Berry" Frozen Yoghurt are made with live probiotic cultures, strawberry juice blend, blueberry, raspberry and etc. And for your information Blueberries are rich in antioxidants which help lower cholesterol and may protect against age-related deterioration of the brain. To my surprised their forest berry yoghurt is not as sour compare to those other brand that I have tried before. And the taste is very really natural like you are eating frozen berry on it's own. Worth trying!
Price: S$4.20 per scoop

So hurry down to one of their outlets(location HERE) to try their ice-cream as well as grab a Quart of that fabulous promotion too!

*NOTE: The 30:30 promotion would not be available for the month of May to July 2011.

OREO Funbox

Talking about OREO, I am sure most of us will think of that 2 pieces of black chocolate flavor sandwich cookies and white cream filling. Usually some kids or adults will enjoy the twisting, licking and dunking of this all time favourite cookies like what it is shown on their TV commercial Ad.

Yesterday while doing our weekend groceries shopping I was caught by some bright blue colour tools box items at one of the corner near the cashier. So out of curiosity I went to check it out and saw these cute OREO Funbox which is at S$3.95 per box.

Each Fun Box consists of 1 packet of Marigold Full Cream Milk and 3 packets of 68.5g each Oreo Sandwich Cookies. These funbox sure come in handy as you can even use it as a lunchbox for your kid to pack Bread together with packet drink for school tea-break or excursion. As for the cookies if you can even use some of it to make "Oreo Cheesecake(recipe here)", "Banana and Oreo Muffin(recipe here)", "Oreo Durian Butter Cake(recipe here)" and etc.

You can purchase these Oreo Funbox from any leading Supermarkets in Singapore such as NTUC Fairprice and Cold Storage from S$3.95 each.

[Win $13,000] Nature Valley New Delectable Chewy Bar

In early April this year, Nature Valley has launched at new chewy bar that comes in two flavours – Mixed Berry; Fruit and Nut. The bars are made with all-natural ingredients, such as almonds, peanuts, cranberries, blueberries and whole-grain oats that are of good health benefit to our body. Personally I prefer the Fruit and Nut option because I love the nutty taste and chewy texture of this healthy snacks. And most importantly they are not too sweet to my liking and it definitely makes at prefer snack at anytime of the day.

Nature Valley Chewy Bars are priced at S$6.30 per six-pouch box and are now available for sale at major supermarkets for a limited time only or while stocks last. For more information on the Nature Valley products or latest promotions, please visit: www.facebook.com/NatureValleySingapore for details.

PROMOTION:

From 18 April to 29 May 2011, just buy any two boxes of Nature Valley granola bars to enter an island-wide promotion, which enable you to stand a chance to win $13,000 cash.

GIVEAWAYS:

And for those Radio 91.3FM listeners, you can also get complimentary Nature Valley granola bars when you tune in to the station for the car decal giveaways on 21 and 28 April 2011.

As for those who are craving for something crunchy instead of chewy, perhaps you might want to pick up a box of this Nature Valley crunchy snack bars that are made with whole grain oats with no artificial colours or preservatives. They are available in delicious crunchy flavours such as Oats and Honey, Roasted Almond, Maple Brown Sugar, Apple Crisp and a Variety Pack at only S$6.30 per six-pouch box.