Walking around Paragon, I am sure that you have noticed this really high class tea room at the far end of the Paragon Mall.

As the kids were at school, I dated my wife and brought her to this tea room for a round of cakes and tea. It was certainly a pleasant experience, as the waiters waltzed around in their “Penguin Suits” to serve us.

Having a sweet tooth, we could not say NO to chocolates on display behind the counter. As we wanted a good sample of their best pastries, we ordered a serving of their Top Sellers. As the selection mostly involved some form of chocolate pastry, we had no objections to the selection!

Before you ask me what to try when I go to the tea room….my verdict is TRY ANYTHING!

Generally, all the pastries are delicious. However, I did not try anything that was a “Die-Die must TRY”.

However, the restaurant did provide me an exquisite dining experience. It is really classy and this is the kind of place, where you will feel yourself pressured to speak softly, and slowly sip your tea.

As an avid tea drinker (In fact, I have my pot of Harrod’s tea next to me, as I am writing this blog post), I thought that the tea here was spectacular!

My wife tried the “Triamisu” flavoured tea, and it was really smooth and flavorful! Much better than the tea that I have at home. However, I thought twice about buying some tea…Harrod’s sells their tea about about $20 per 100gm. Cova sells it at $45 per 100gm. YES! This is NOT a TYPO!

I think I am better off just dropping by for an occasional pot of tea, which is sold at about $8–$10 per pot.

For the price conscious reader, the pastries are priced at about $4–$6 per pastry, and cakes go at about $8–$10 per slice. If you are NOT a Prince William, who can afford to have his English Tea at this tea room everyday, here is a quick tip for everyone!

Cakes and pastries go at 50% discount after 8pm. So, I will definitely be dropping by soon, to buy some cakes for the kids soon!  

Cova, Pasticceria – Confetteria

Paragon Shopping Centre
290 Orchard Road, 238859
6733 0777
Subway: Orchard
Open Weekdays 9am-10pm

As we enter the year of the Rabbit, Here’s the Tay Family wishing you a very prosperous New Year and…

This year, the New Year has especially been a bit difficult for me and my wife, as we recently went on a diet, and we lost about 7-8kg in 21 days.

However, with the many sweets and pastries available this season, it’s been a bit hard to maintain our diet. According to our dieting schedule, we are supposed to keep ourselves off carbohydrates & sweets, and this means No Bread, Noodles, Rice, Fast food and CNY Snacks…

However, it has been a losing battle these 2 days

There are just too many goodies to go around…and recently, the Newspapers just published the number of calories that we can find in our CNY Snacks. (Please bear in mind that we only need about 1500-1800 calories / day)

According to “Mind your Body”

1. Pineapple Tarts 

• 2 Pieces (40 gm) = 164 Calories and 12g of Sugar

On Average, I think I had about 4-6 of these lovely tarts at every serving. That’s 492 calories for 6 tarts…I think I should skip dinner after eating these tarts!

2. Bak Kwa

• One Slice (57g) = 229 Calories and 24.5g of Sugar

Seriously, who can stop at one slice of Bak Kwa? Personally, I eat at least 3 slices per session, and that is about 690 Calories! Imagine half your daily requirement gone in 3 slices!

3. Love Letters

• 2 Pieces (26g) = 112 Calories and 9.9g of Sugar

I think an average person eats about 6 pieces at one serving. That will mean 336 Calories…and can u imagine…You have not even drank your Coke yet

4. Mandarin Oranges

• One Orange = 51 Calories and 10.6g of Sugar

With so many pastries and oranges to end the meal, we should expect that this season will be an intense period of feasting!

I am hoping that I can keep my calorie intake within reasonable levels during this season, and hopefully I can maintain my waist line.

Meanwhile, here’s wishing everyone a Prosperous Year of the Rabbit!

Over the last few days, I had the opportunity to dine at some new restaurants that I have never tried before.

First up, I managed to try out the famous Japanese restaurant—Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. I am sure that you would have noticed this joint, if you walk around B4 of Ion Orchard.

There used to be long queues here when Ion first opened, but currently the queues have dwindled to a manageable level. This is also because there are less people checking out Ion Orchard these days.

Not modelled like a conventional western restaurant, Ginza Bairin offers free seating and orders are taken at the cashier. One should therefore order first, before you get your seat.

Although the restaurant is famous for its Fried Pork Cutlet, we decided to try something different.

My wife ordered the Char Siew Ramen.

Verdict:

It was delicious, with the Char Siew having a very different but pleasant taste. It is not like the Char Siew found at your favourite Wan Ton Mee stall, but one that is flavourful and offering a unique Japanese taste.

I liked the soup as well, which is full of MSG. A must for any Asian Cuisine!

For me, I ordered the Unagi with Rice and it was definitely the best Unagi I have ever tasted!

The best thing about the Unagi is that it is a served slightly burnt!

Shocking u might think! On the contrary, this burnt taste is what makes the Unagi very tasty and unique!

This is a definite must try, if you like Japanese Eel as much as me!

If you are looking for a place to eat while at the Orchard MRT area, do give the restaurant a try.

Prices range from an average of $15

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin

(ION Orchard) 2 Orchard Turn, #B4-39/40, Singapore 238801

Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

KFC Egg Tarts have arrived in Singapore!

The last time I had Egg Tarts, was when I went to Glacier Confectionary at Serangoon  Ave 3.

This time round, I was invited by OMY.sg (Thanks to Klessis), to the promotional launch of KFC’s Egg Tarts.

Hailing from Macau, the Egg Tarts are an authentic recipe developed by the famous Margaret Wong who made Portuguese Egg Tarts a legend in Macau (It seems that Margaret is so famous, that even cab drivers will bring you to her cafe, when you mention her name).

Priced at $1.30/ piece, the Egg Tarts make a great snack and I love it when it is served Piping Hot!

Definitely a Tart worth trying, when you looking for a quick afternoon snack.

Here’s a Video of the Promo done by OMY.

Guess what…yours truly is in the Video…Look out a guy in a blue shirt, and you will catch a few glimpses of me!

I hope that you guys can put up with me, as this will be my last post about Korea…Hopefully, this info will be useful to you guys, when you go over to Seoul.

Besides the Dongdaemun Markets, one of the places to visit in Seoul Korea, is Namdaemun Market.

The market is located next to Namdaemun, which means "Great South Gate," and was the main southern gate to the old city. The location of the market is within a 10 minute walk from Seoul metropolitan station and is even closer to the subway (Hoehyeon Station, Line 4).

Namdaemun market is the largest and the oldest in Korea, and therefore you can find particularly everything here. From Luggage bags to pots and pans, this is the place where Koreans buy their daily necessities.

Parents will also find this place interesting, as this is the place where you can buy cheap clothes for your children. Yes!!! Lots of children’s clothes and shoes as well!

Being a wholesale market, this is the place to be if you are looking for affordable prices. However, as it was winter, there were not many choices for us! (If you are looking for children’s toys in Korea, head down to Dongdaemun Market)

Besides the clothes and homeware that you can find, you can also find lots of street food there.

Street food seems even more tasty in winter, as it is so cold, and the food really warms you up.

 

Don’t know what the hot meat is called, but it looks like “Dog meat” to me! Jiahui loves beef, and therefore she really enjoyed the hamburger meat.

The locals seem to really love their waffles as well! We saw a lot of kids eating these waffles, as they were walking along the streets. We bought this waffle with chocolate topping at the nearby Metro (MRT) station.

One of the best food places that I visited, was this Korean Restaurant which sold Fried Chicken (Called Tongdak). I am a real lover of KFC, and therefore we really went out of way to find the restaurant. Besides Tongdak, the restaurant is also famous for Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup).

The YeongYang Centre is situated in Myeong dong and it was established in 1960. As it is highly recommended by the locals, it was a “Must Try” restaurant for us!

We followed the directions from the website, but unfortunately we could not find the restaurant!

Yeong Yang Centre

-Open: 10:30 am ~ 10:00 pm daily
-Closed: Chinese New Year’s holidays, Chuseok holidays
-Telephone: 02-776-2015
-Menu: Tongdak 12,000, Samgyetang 12,000
-How to Get There: From Exit 5 of Myeongdong Station (Subway Line No. 4), walk about 50 meters along Myeongdong-daero to the first intersection (near Pascucci coffee shop). Turn left and walk about 50 meters. The restaurant is next to Kaist optician’s.

We left frustrated and we went to another restaurant instead. The next day, we came back to the Myeong Dong,  and this time round, though a divine stroke of luck, we found it!

It is only then that we realized that the restaurant had shifted and it was now situated about 100m away, in another alley. We were only able to find it, as they had employed guides to bring customers to the new location!

Was it worth the search?

Well, I love chicken and my wife loves soup, so it was definitely worth it!

If u are tired of eating the other local food like Kimchi and Bim Bim Bug, then give this restaurant a try!

 

They also serve a local favourite, where they have Ginseng Chicken Soup. The dish is a little different from the local ones found in Singapore, as rice is found within the chicken! Give this dish a try, especially during winter, as the soup really warms you up!