Paddy Hills' Truffle Menu for Christmas 2016

Christine and I had a fantastic brunch at Paddy Hills, and they have a Christmas truffle menu for the season. I'll let the photos speak for themselves:

Check them out in more detail at their official Facebook page.

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Dinner at Pasta J, Thomson Road (November 2016)

Pasta J is named after its owner, John, who may come off pretentiously for the uninitiated--he openly admits to having no prior F&B experience, leaving an engineering career in the pursuit of his culinary passion. However, all it takes is one visit and a sampling of his dishes to know he isn't just all talk.

His pesto appetiser is delightfully full of the good stuff that makes you want to scrape the bottom of that shot glass. It has an intensity that I have not been able to find anywhere else.

Likewise, the mushroom soup is by far the most intensely flavored of the lot I've had in memory. Legend has it that he reduces the water content in the mushroom so much that when it ends up being stock in the soup, the flavor is rich and full.

Remember the reduced-mass mushrooms? I think those belong to the same bunch in the pork cutlet dish. I think there's a deliberate choice in the cut of pork used in this dish, as it's all tender and nothing chewy/rubbery that you would find with a larger cut.

I've saved my favorite for last. This is the Caramel Carnivore, and it is packed with caramelized onions, pork meat balls, and a dash of heavy cream (that you pour from a shot glass when served). Meat lovers, this dish does not come any more highly recommended!

All in all, Christine and I always enjoy our time at Pasta J. We've even come here for Mothers' Day celebrations, and have brought both mothers from respective families here. The only warning I can think of is if you're not a pet lover, and you can't stand dogs, this place is pet-friendly. From time to time you may have owners coming in with their beloved pooches--who may bark, run past you, brush against your leg.

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Brunch at Grub (November 2016)

So this place has undergone a face lift since Christine and I last dined here, with the bar area gone and the menu changed completely.

With the bar gone, some of the "home kitchen" vibe that Grub once had was lost. I suppose they had to change it up due to increasing patronage.

Call me a geek but I think the typography on the menu invites me to read it in full.

Dried flowers do make for a fuss-free, easy-to-maintain decoration on the table.

Christine had the har-cheong-kai (prawn paste chicken) burger, which was juicy, flavorful and had that prawny tinge encased in the crispy crust. This may be a minor thing for some, but we think the fries were absolutely spot-on. None of them were soggy, each had a decent level of crispiness, and they were not overbearingly big.

I had the breakfast stack, which had bacon and chicken cheese sausage, much to my non-kosher delight (that's what staying in a Jewish hostel can turn you into). The generous topping of balsamic vinegar brought out the freshness of the salad. My only gripe, as it is with most breakfast meals, is that the roasted tomatoes were still too wet. But then again, that's my personal preference.

To top off the meal, Christine got a serving of churros, which were nicely crisped. I could taste the Nutella sauce, but not so much the cream.

More info here:
http://grub.com.sg/

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The Sims Freeplay: Building a Factory to Generate Cash, Experience and LP's

I've recently got onto The Sims and tried my hand at playing it. It seems like conventional wisdom in life, like getting a job, career advancement, and improving your skills in your chosen profession don't work effectively in this game. Instead, being unemployed (which frees up your time) and working on your garden is the best way to generate cash, experience and lifestyle points! Allow me to direct your attention to the following video which really helped explain this anomaly of Sim economics:

A huge "thank you" to Make2, the wonderful couple who are a huge inspiration for all things Sims-related.

Here's a suggested "factory" layout to maximise the use of your Sims' time and energy. I took the liberty to make the factory look nicer by using the first house as its template, hence the blue flooring and a dedicated toilet.

Meeting Your Sims' Needs

To recap what the video tutorial said, your Sims have a few basic needs that the factory meets:

• Food: Use the fridges to provide sustenance.
• Sleep: They don't necessarily have to sleep, so use the coffee machines to keep them up indefinitely.
• Toilet: Well, it seems the Sims don't mind being in a unisex, uncovered toilet.
• Cleanliness: Kitchen sinks have the advantage of being able to keep your Sims clean (they don't necessarily have to bathe) and being the place they can clean up plates (in cooking to generate LP's).

The only critique I have for the factory is the lack of socialising, which I suppose we could spend some time with the Sims making conversations to fill that up.

Generating Cash and Experience

Gardening is the quickest way to earn cash and experience depending on the plant. Some plants have shorter growth cycles, such as corn which takes 20 minutes, while others can take up to a whole day. Pumpkins generate the most amount of experience, so it will really depend on your immediate needs.

Generating Lifestyle Points

The cooking hobby allows for all Sims to participate in chalking up hobby items. Once all hobby items are complete, you'll earn experience and prizes. Completing the hobby items consecutively earns you LP's, so get those Sims to make lots of cheese on toast, the quickest cooking task, and one which only requires a basic stove.

You will, however, need to exploit a bug in the game. Get one more countertop, place it in the corner, and buy a toaster. You will need to make the toaster face outwards, away from the "correct" orientation. For cheese on toast, the Sim will usually cook on a stove then head over to a toaster to finish off. However, with the toaster inaccessible, this last animation is totally bypassed. The kitchen sink is especially useful because it will allow your Sim to wash up the plates right there and then, instead of wasting time walking out to the trash.

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Korean BBQ Buffet at Don Dae Bak

Our dear friend gave a treat and she deserves a shout-out for being the awesome possum wife's bff (and by extension, mine too). She brought us to Don Dae Bak, a place that was drastically different from what I had in mind. The only experience I had with Korean BBQ thus far was Seoul Garden, and yes, I recognise that isn't entirely authentically Korean.

First things first: the low-hanging pipe above the grill area is essentially a HVAC unit that siphons air away. You pull it closer to the grill (quite close, in fact) when you're cooking meat. That being said, nothing will prevent these two things from happening to you when eating at a Korean BBQ:

1. Your clothes will smell of cooked meat. Forget about how you look, wear things you know you'll throw in the wash the second you reach home.

2. The oil from the grill will splatter, and a drop or two of very hot oil will land on your skin. Or in my case, my eye. Twice. My bespectacled friends, you're at an advantage here.

The meat selection here is really good, and we had a choice of pork, chicken and beef. Being the carnivores we are, we went with all types of meat.

Of course, the highlight of eating at such a place is cooking the meat. Behold, the oil-splattering goodness of grill-cooking:

The best tip I can give you is that your time at one sitting is limited to 90 minutes, so if you want the most amount of meat for the time you have, forego the chicken and just choose beef. Chicken takes so much longer to cook!

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Brunch at Spruce, Fire Station (Upper Bukit Timah)

A fire station-turned-restaurant/bar, this place is spacious and evokes a sense of quirkiness. 

Bottles galore! Of course, for a bar, this must be standard fare.

I can't really comment on their selection, but I'm told their offerings aren't overly expensive.

I really like the wooden textures of their decor.

Christine and I have been eyeing Spruce for a while now, and they didn't disappoint. Their staff are attentive and are quite willing to strike up a conversation with you--so if you're the type who want privacy on your dates, you might find them a little uncomfortable intrusive.

A simple menu where everything can be seen at a glance.

Their macchiato isn't that strong but for a pick-me-up in the morning, it performed its function well.

Christine had a 2-for-1 drinks special while I had the coffee.

On to the main event. As a tip, their sides may sound small, but they are really big. Our server advised against our order of a side each. Here's why:

The French toast is huge! So beware, you might end up not being able to finish your sides!

She had the eggs royale, which is poached eggs with smoked salmon on a muffin. Spruce includes a dash of caviar to add an extra dimension to the dish.

I went with their recommended "chicken benny", which is eggs benedict with a portion of grilled chicken served with waffles. Sounds weird but it works well!

Their portions are huge! I think I will order one main and one side to share with Christine should we come here again.

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Sunday Brunch at Basilico

The recent birthday festivities were absolutely amazing. My wife and I love brunch, and especially Basilico's, which features an open cheese room (only during the Sunday brunch) and numerous legendary dishes like truffle cream risotto and free-flow foie gras.

As a lover of all things truffle and foie gras, I skipped over all the other items on their buffet line, which does look good too.

The main event for me was raiding the cheese room. This time, there was an Italian cheese chef who asked for my preferences and made his recommendations. When I said I wanted to try everything, he made it a point to pick out his most adventurous cheese: urbiaco al Barolo, which is wine-infused cheese. As a Methodist, I can't drink, but since this is in food, I suppose the rule won't apply here.

The best dishes of the day, however, still went to the pan-fry station because of foie gras. I think Christine and I must have eaten at least $100 worth of the gooey goodness.

Last but not least, we also raided the truffle dish of the day. Unfortunately, it wasn't the standard risotto; alas, it was changed to a truffle cream ravioli. Nonetheless, it was still really good.

As far as I was concerned, I was done. However, as all wives would be quick to point out, a buffet is incomplete without desserts. So here's a short collection of obligatory dessert shots:

What a day this has been. Thank you dearest, for the wonderful treat! It was an amazing experience!

For further reading:
Basilico's official web page

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