Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International [Part II - Dining Options]

Onboard dining is not just on food but the ambiance, variety and the flexibility to decide when and what we like is also into consideration. In Voyager Of The Seas, it includes dining from casual to sophisticated, cupcakes to canapes and etc (many of them included in the price of your cruise). And if you prefer soft drinks, wine and etc to go with your meals, you can choose to pair meals with a beverage package and enjoy up to 25% savings on your favorite drinks.

In this Part II of my "Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International" post I will be sharing some of the Dining Options we had tried during our trip onboard the Voyager Of The Seas.

Grilled Chicken With Lemongrass and Basil Leaves

Here is another quick and easy Happy Call Pan (HCP) dish which is inspired by one of my friend, Jaiyi through her instagram photo(HERE). We all loved this "Grilled Chicken with Lemongrass And Basil Leave" where the chicken meat is so tender and infused with the unique aroma of the lemongrass and Thai basil. But if you can't get hold of Thai Basil, free feel to replace it with Parsley which is originally used in Jaiyi's recipe.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH LEMONGRASS AND BASIL LEAVES

As for those who don't have a HCP, you can always bake this dish using an Oven which you might perhaps need to roast it for a longer timing in order to get it cook. Or if you prefer easy cooking, you can also replace whole chicken with parts such as mid-joint, drumsticks or etc depending on your preference too.

(Serves: 4   | Preparation: 10 minutes   |  Marinate: 2 hours  |  Cooking: 30 - 35 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Chicken (1.2kg), portion into halved without cutting through
2 Stalks Of Lemongrass, lightly pound and sliced
1/2 Tablespoon of Black Peppercorns, crashed
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
3/4 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoon Cooking Wine (Hua Diao Jiu)
Handful of Thai Bail, roughly chopped
3 Stalks Lemongrass, cut into sections

Method:-

1. Clean and rinse the chicken, pat dry with kitchen paper towel and rub the salt all over the chicken together with the mixture of oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and cooking wine.

2. Next stuff 3/4 of the lemongrass and basil mixture in the chicken cavity(refer to the photo above) and tie it up using a baking string(you can find it in daiso or baking shop).

3. Sprinkler some crashed black peppercorns on the chicken and top with remaining lemongrass mixture. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight to get the flavour through the meat.

4. Place extra lemongrass and chicken (remove the string and lay it flat, skin side up) in the Happy Call Pan (HCP), cook over medium heat (LOCK) for about 15 minutes, flip the pan over and cook for another 10 - 12 minutes.

5. Flip the pan back. Unlock and cook for another 8 - 10 minutes to get a nice golden crispy outer skin. (total cooking time might varies depending on the size of the chicken)

So if you or your family loves chicken dishes, this might be something quick and easy which you would like to consider whipping up over the weekend and share some family time by having simple homecook dishes together.

Food Fiesta 2012 @ Takashimaya Square

From 28 June - 15 July 2012, Takashimaya would be holding their annual Food Festival at the fountain square, basement 2. It compress of different Asian food such as dishes, sweets and snacks from Korea,Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and etc plus a highlighted area for all Japanese food items.

Korean Food Stall with all the meat sticks, hotdog, kimichi and etc.

If you like Chendol with lots of gulua melaka you should queue at this stall to try out their Chendol which has a great fragrant and texture when taste. Other than Chendol, this stall have freshly made Popiah too.

Now other than City Square Mall(Singapore), you can also get a chance to sample the famous Taiwan "Hot Star Crispy Chicken (豪大大鸡排)" at this Takashimaya food fiesta too! It is a "must try" if you like deep-fried crispy chicken, but just a note they have a policy of not cutting the chicken into pieces. If compare with "Shi Lin (士林超大雞排XXL)" crispy chicken, I think I still prefer Hot Star due to it's unique taste and fragrant.

Japanese section with all the flavoured nuts, Mizkan sauces and seasonings, dried products, seaweeds and etc.

My boy saw "Udders Ice Cream" with his favourite "Awesomely Chocolate" and he insists to get a scoop even though he is too full to have dessert after lunch.

Simply cannot resists the temptation of his favourite chocolate ice cream!

Further in at the middle of the fair, you can find beautiful cupcakes from "Dessert Cup" which range from $4.00+ to $6.00+.

Cupcakes from Dessert Cup

Yummy Cake Bread from Juz Bread with their hot selling Hokkaido Cake (hazelnut or custard) at S$3.00 each.

Aster Pau has a varieties of hot food such as Pau (steamed bun), siew mai and etc which you can grab some for tea break or breakfast.

Array of premium flavour tea leaves and related products.

Other than the above, there are also stalls such as "Rasa Sayang" with their famous chiffon and Surabaya Cake, Candy making, Fresh Oyster from Japan and etc. So do pop-by before it ends at 15 July 2012 to pick up your favourite food and snacks.

Chiso Zanmai Japanese Buffet Restaurant

During June School Holidays we have quiet a number of activities such as the Angry Birds Cable Car Ride (HERE), 6 Days Cruise Trip (HERE), exploring the new Ice Skating Rink at JCube (HERE) and etc. And just a week before the school holidays ends, my brother organized a buffet lunch meetup over at "Chiso Zanmai" since he knows our family loves Japanese cuisine.

Above shows my plating of "Kaiseki" which is a traditional multi-course Japanese cuisine where we just grab a big tray at the counter and pick-up our favourite Kaiseki dishes and enjoy our meal like what the Japanese Emperor did in the olden days. (All photos in this post are taken using iPhone since it is just our causal family gathering)

Chiso Zanmai is a Japanese Buffet Restaurant located at The Central, Clarke Quay which overtakes it's previous owner where Fisherman’s Market used to be. For the price of S$14.90++ to enjoy a Japanese style lunch buffet which serves up more than 80 varieties of food and desserts is definitely worth trying. And moreover Chiso Zanmai is originated from Osaka and this is their first branch outside of Japan.

Appetizers Counter

As usual to start off the buffet, I will pick up some cold dishes from the Appetizer Counter and enjoy it before heading for the hot dishes. For the appetizers, other than the above they also have cha soba, potato salad, mixed salad, deep-fried eggplant with bonito broth and etc. But my favourite choices are those shown above. 

These are my little boy's favourite and indeed they have quiet a good spread of Sushi upon selection too.

Hakkaido Ishikari Nabe is a common seafood and vegetables soup served in Hakkaido and most of us on our table loves this seafood pot with it's sweet and flavousome clear soup broth. As you can see from the photo above, there are prawn, flower crab, tofu, leek and etc in it which makes it prefer to go with steamed rice.

Ramen lover, you can choose between either Tonkotsu or Shoya soup base to go with your Ramen. For me, I will prefer the Tonkotsu which is pork base with a thicker and stronger taste compared to Shoya. Surprisingly the noodles are still quiet springy when bite so overall it still blends well with the broth.

Traditional Japanese Counter

There are basically two sections on the Hot Food Counter where you can grab some Traditional Japanese Cuisine or Teppan. Above shown a selection from Braised Squid with White Radish, Corn Cream Croquette, Stewed Pork And Potato, Crab Shao-mai and etc.

Hot Food

I did not snap much on the Teppan Counter as there are quiet a number of people around queuing for the food. But you can find yummy Takoyaki(octopus balls), Stir Fried Noodles, Tempura, Fried Pumpkin and etc. Above are some of the items from the Hot Food Counter that I love.

Mum loves these Deep Fried Yam which she mentioned is quiet similar taste to our Chinese Abacus Seeds.

Love this crispy and delicious Chicken Karaage that dipped in some Ponzu Sauce (citrus-based sauce) which gives it a similar taste like our Asian Lemon Chicken.

Dessert Counter

After a hearty meal, it's time to pamper yourself with some "sweet" dessert such as cake, tart, pastry or ice-cream. At their Dessert Counter, items are routine frequently through out the buffet and you can find some fresh fruits, cheesecake, mochi, eclair, jelly, ice cream or etc.

Since for the month of June they are having this "Matcha Fair", you could find most of their desserts are made with matcha theme. Out of those shown above, I love their matcha mochi, matcha tofu as well as the matcha tiramisu. Too bad I didn't get a chance to try their Matcha Panna Cotta which might be rotating in their dinner menu instead.

CHISO ZANMAI

6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#02-17
The Central @ Clarke Quay
Reservation: +65 6221 3177

PRICE:
Lunch (12.00pm - 3.00pm)
Monday - Friday
Adult: S$14.90++   Child(below 1m): S$9.90++   Senior (above 60): S$12.90++

Saturday, Sunday And Public Holidays
Adult: S$19.90++   Child(below 1m): S$9.90++   Senior (above 60): S$17.90++


Dinner (6.00 - 10.00pm) SASHIMI (DINNER ONLY)
Sunday - Thursday And Public Holidays
Adult: S$24.90++   Child(below 1m): S$14.90++   Senior (above 60): S$22.90++

Friday, Saturday, Sunday And Public Holidays
Adult: S$29.90++   Child(below 1m): S$14.90++   Senior (above 60): S$27.90++


Top-Up $1.99++ For Free Flow Of Drinks
Cold beverages such as green tea, iced lemon tea, root beer and etc
Hot beverage such as coffee (black, cappuccino, latte) and tea


So if you are looking for some Japanese Style Buffet at an affordable price, perhaps you would want to consider Chiso Zanmai which I personally think it worth what we pay for. Will check what's on their July / August dinner menu soon as I eying on their SASHIMI!!!