Ji De Chi

I've been walking pass this place (since it lies in a mall) ever since and have been meaning to try it out. Located in the Basement of Plaza Singapura, I've never come across the way the dessert was made...

The signboard that caught my eye

This dessert shop has it's ideas originated from Hong Kong, and uses a method whereby one places order on a piece of paper and off it goes to the waiter. The stall doesn't only do desserts but also savoury snacks such as 'bak kuah' or sticky rice with mince pork wrapped in a a pyramid shape and chee cheong fun.

Just like ice kacang, the way ice was shaven was more so smooth and it had a creamy texture like ice cream. But it's made out of ice!!!

Mango and Strawberry dessert with glutinous riceballs, sago, strawberries and mangoes

Smoothly shaved ice

Right, I do sound abit surprise and overly excited but this is something new that I have not come across before. The desserts are a tad more expensive than normal but the quality is there. Click here for more reviews and pictures posted by Jyoan in her positively nice blog :)

Heh, this dude is also doing the same thing :P

We couldn't really see how the machine had shaven the ice because it wasn't out in the open or the machine was so quiet that we couldn't hear a thing.

Our hot dessert, black sesame 'tau fu fa' or sweet toufu at the bottom.

Desserts on average costs about $5 but one thing that strikes out quite well is how healthy they actually are (well if you don't pick the deep fried and the durian ones that is). Our desserts had fresh fruits and we couldn't taste much coconut milk in our hot dessert.

I'd say this will be the next place to go to if I were to bring someone out to catch up for 'coffee'. The system is quite efficient in a way that you pay immediately after getting your dish and waiters don't rush you off too. Unfortunately this place was in the middle of the people footpath so unless you want a quieter area, you may either have to go further in or look for an alternative branch.

More information

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Plaza Singapura #B2-53, 68 Orchard Road, (S)238839
Tel: 63379828
Operating hours are 10am -10pm Daily
www.jidechi.com.sg

Dian Xiao Er

Righty ho!

Time for restaurant reviews and my oh my there are alot to review over here! So much that I am getting rather lazy but I must make the efforts so that I know where to go too when I feel like craving for something hehe.

In general, Singapore's seafood is kinda over rated. I tend to base good seafood on where a country lie and although Singapore is sort of an island, most of the beaches are used as ports. So no luck with good seafood and they are expensive in certain ways.

Anyway, I was told that the chilli crabs and snail porridge are the best as well as you can find restaurants which are close enough to it's best. And one of them is this restaurant, in which the duck is as yummy as the one in the UK and close enough to the origins of it's country: China

Dian Xiao Er

The duck dish comes in 3 flavours, as it's based on the herbs that they stuff each duck with. You can literally see it getting cooked / baked and cut and the whole meat is utilised right up to the oil that oozes out of it, which is used as the sauce. What makes this dish extra lovely is the herbs they put in. One of them has up to 10 different ingredients! As well as it has nutritional values too.

Not only the duck dish is delicious, the quality of the restaurant's other dishes are just as good. We had our 'kangkung belacan' (spicy water spinach), deep fried prawns with cereal and one of the restaurant's other specialty dish: wheat tofu with seafood. This is very very healthy as nutrition is one of the restaurant's specialty.

The restaurant takes no bookings and it's on a first come first serve basis. With unlimited chinese tea, customers are allowed to sit and relax while waiting for the food to go down or chat and catch up after a hearty meal. So far, there are only 2 locations that you can find this restaurant and fortunately, one lies very close to a tourist spot, Harbour Front linking to Sentosa Island :) . Price range is reasonable too, one can spend between $20-$30 per person to feel full. Click here for more reviews and pictures.

So if you're here for a short visit, pop by! This is my restaurant that I'll bring any of my guests / relatives over to try without a doubt!

More information

#02-137/8, 1 HarbourFront Centre Walk S(098585), VivoCity
Tel: 6376 9786
Opening Hours: Mon to Sun: 11:30am - 2:30pm, 5:30pm - 9:30pm
www.dianxiaoer.net


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Sticky Rice ball with Black Sesame

Another post! This is also what I am preparing for the fund raise from my previous post :)

This time, I manage to cut time down by making the balls at room temperature. Glutinous rice works in such an interesting way and I am not surprise that they work well in Asia or any other tropical countries. And apparently, if I mix Tapioca flour to it, it probably can increase the shelf life of these desserts as they don't harden to quick (yes, sticky rice ball can only be left out for 2 days before they turn hard and they can't be refrigerated)

But again, I seemed to still have air in them and they break after I boil them ><. Nyway, I think I would still prefer Lo Mai Chi (aka peanut filling) to this as I do find the sesame seeds a tad abit bitter. It doesn't really look as great (I think I made alien balls this round) but I do hope people will at least buy 1 to try...

(Thanks to Chow Time's and Thai Food About.com's helpful posts)

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