New Year's @ OSCARS

So thankful, I tell you, that I could be back at OSCARS in Conrad Centennial Hotel for New Year's Eve dinner this year.

The suggestion had come as a surprise. 

I had thought I'd be having a much more casual meal at a much more casual place- which I wouldn't mind- but since I'm not the type to say no to an invite for a hotel buffet, so, yes, I went. 

I've said it before. 

I'll say it now. 

OSCARS has one of the most interesting buffet spreads ever. 

I don't mean it in terms of buffet offerings (only) but also the aesthetics, which, to me, are one of the cutest and most charming ones I've seen. 

Hitherto I haven't had much of a chance to take picture of the food at the counters, except during Lunar New Year, so glad I was that I was able to take picture of it this time. 

Never mind that all I managed to take was of the dessert table. 

Seeing the pine cones, the nutcracker sentinel dolls, the streamers and the poinsettias was more than enough to get me into the mood, and whet my appetite. not to mention the neatly sliced stollen, the beautifully stacked panettone, and the big dish of tiramisu that you could take as much as you liked.

This evening I decided to begin dinner with salad, and fruit. 

I'm the kind of person who prefers carb salads over veggie salads, so I had a plate holding a little bit of macaroni salad, a bit of potato salad, some cherry tomatoes, and slices fruit (which I had wanted to take the last time but somehow missed).

It didn't matter to me that I was starting dinner cold.

Salads make for a great appetizer, especially when there's a bit of chew, and better if there be natural sweetness from dragon fruit and cantaloupes. 

I went for the hot almost immediately after, getting myself a plate holding mashed potato (with truffle oil!), a slice of honey baked ham (I couldn't resist!) and several pieces of what I think is grilled pumpkin. 

Dont' laugh at my choice of mashed potato.

OSCARS does theirs really, really good.

I don't know if it's a Mediterranean thing or an American thing, but their mashed potato (when eaten warm) has the richness of butter, the smoothness of well-blended potato, and the slightly salty, earthy taste of truffle oil.

It's the butter part that gets to me, I think. 

Perhaps I've always had a fondness of buttery whipped potato, and although a part of me doesn't want to feel anything for it as how I used to, the palate today still welcomes the butter, the smooth creamy texture and the solid, settling warmth each time I have it. 

Not just that, pumpkin, too, is one of my favorite vegetables. 

Colorful, soft, mushy, easy to cook and easy to eat, I only wish it were more available at the places I go to, or even as snacks.

Sometimes I get to have the steamed version from the cai fan stalls, but I love it best when it's grilled, or fried. 

In fact I liked this root vegetable so much that after a serving of laksa soup, I went looking around for more food, and ended up with another serving of the same grilled pumpkin, the same mashed potato with truffle oil, but this time, with an additional bit of beef. 

It's almost hard to believe that I got somewhat full just by eating potatoes and root vegetables, but no one comes to a hotel buffet and eats just enough.

No, you whack. 

You whack good. 

The stars of this evening's dinner had to be the salmon sashimi, the laksa, and the baby lobsters, of which we took plates counting at least three. 

I like salmon sashimi. 

It is a dish that is best eaten as an opener, but is also one of those dishes that can be eaten anytime during the meal. 

This evening I chose to space out the sashimi and have it as and when during the course of the meal. 

Seeing the orange of the salmon made me happier.

Likewise with the orange of the laksa, where, I must say, we went ballistic, with two and a half bowls, that had, each time, not just the noodles and the quail eggs, but heaps of baby lobsters whose flesh we patiently peeled, and dunked into the soup.

I'd like to know how it is between lobsters and prawns that I can have the meat of at least six or seven lobsters whilst with the latter I get full with only three. 

It's true.

I've tried. 

Prawns are the kind of food where all I eat are three- dipped in Thousand Island salad cream- and that's it, I have way less appetite for anything else. 

Can't say the same for lobsters though. 

Three plates of lobsters went into three different bowls of laksa, and only on the last bowl did we admit that we were starting to feel kind of full. 

But there was still dessert, which not for the life of me we were going to miss. 

So off it was to the dessert counters. 

My friend helped himself to tiramisu, some of the jellies in glass, and cake. 

I, on the other hand, went for the log cake, the panettone, and a scoop of the tiramisu.

The log cake was so good. 

Okay, so it reminded me a little bit of old-school yet timeless black forest cake, but oy, it (felt) richer, and somehow it seemed more delish, had more cream, more blueberry, even a thicker sponge. 

I liked it. 

Pity I couldn't take more. 

Which, now that I think about it, I should have.

I should have gone for the other desserts too, like the stollen, the waffle and ice cream, the apple crumble, the matcha chocolate cake, even the macarons and the Christmas cookies that come only once a year.

But that's life, and hopefully for the year of 2025 I'll get a chance to eat here at Christmas season again, and this time I'm going to make sure I take more. 

Going UpCountry

It wasn't my intention to write this post. 

I have, after all, already written three.

But then I looked again at the collection from this weekend trip, and thought to myself, with this being my first time back to Malaysia after a twenty year hiatus, heck, maybe I should write a fourth.

So here we are, armed with a batch of pictures that born and bred Malaysians would not bat an eye to, but is fascinating to someone who has spent her whole life on a little dot of an island surrounded by flat ground, concrete buildings and horticulturally planted trees. 

For the record its not as if there can't be any rubber trees or palm trees or anything of that sort. 

We used to have them. 

We just don't grow them now.  

Somewhere along the way the ground dried up or something, I don't know.

And so it becomes such that if we want to get grounded with nature or have our fix of forest and cultivated farm, we have to cross the Causeway and go upcountry.  

Locals here on the island often say that they go to Malaysia to visit family, for the food and for the shopping. 

Whilst that's true, there are those of us who do go to the country just for a quick glimpse of what our own island used to be, yet no longer is. 

There's a kind of vibe in the country that seems to be also prevalent throughout parts of South East Asia. The vibe is a little hard to define but it's a kind of small-town, kampung feel can be described as both idyllic and rustic at the same time. 

It really depends on how you define the vibe. 

Could it be the presence of the coconut trees?

Could it be the presence and color of the soil, or the untouched tropical forest that surrounds many a house and which you don't realize until you're in these parts? 

It's difficult to define just what this is that makes one feel familiar with the kampung vibe- it might even be the harmony- but there were plenty of such scenes, most on the outskirts of Melaka as the transport was going in, or out, and in a way, it made me feel at ease.

The world hadn't changed. 

Sure, it had evolved, but in places like Malaysia where there was more than enough land, they could keep what places like Singapore used to be. They could keep things at ease and timeless. They could decide- on their own- whether or not they wanted to evoke change. 

In a sense there was a huge part of just 'letting it be', and even though people like to say that it's not good for progress etc etc, perhaps that is a factor we stressed out urbanized people need. 

It wasn't just the kampung vibe that I caught my eye.

There was also, the presence of space and the sight of all them trees.

A long time ago I used to get bored with the view of palm tree after palm tree after palm tree, but no more. Now the sight of them actually calmed me down and soothed me. 

But what really caught my attention- what I really, really were eager for- were the hills. 

It would have been nice had I been able to see the hill range of Titiwangsa that stretches over Pahang, Kelantan, Perak, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, but seeing the foothills of the foothills along the North South Expressway wasn't too bad either. 

The hills fascinated me.

Probably because I'd just come from Kanchanaburi not too long ago.

Or probably because I've been fascinated by their hills ever since I discovered that the hill in the horizon seen from my bedroom window back in Singapore was likely one of the Gunungs in Johor. 

There was a time when I'd get bored with seeing tree after tree after tree out the window of a bus journey. 

But now, no more. 

The view has become soothing. 

The view has become nostalgic.

And I'm thankful for it. 

Swatow's Dim Sum Yum Cha Time

It's been a couple of years since I last came to Swatow Restaurant here at Toa Payoh for their dim sum buffet. 

Why it's taken so long, I don't know, I guess we went elsewhere, but today, this afternoon we came back here for their afternoon dim sum, and can I say how glad I am sometimes that there're things in life which actually do remain the same? 

It's not just the sense of being familiar.

It's the understanding that one's life might go through ups and downs and that you might experience stuff which you dont want to put into memory, but step into a place like Swatow Seafood, and you're reminded once again just why things like habits and tradition are important. 

The reception area of Swatow hasn't changed.

The chairs, and the wall decor- great for family portraits- are still there, as are the tables and chairs in the dining space. 

What's slightly different, however, is the seasonal decoration that they now have. 

I was delighted, and quietly impressed, by the sight of cozy Christmas table decor right in the middle of their self-service tables. It added a whole lot of charm to their regular style of chinoiserie decor. 

One of the very first plates to arrive at our table this afternoon was the complimentary abalone. 

Good or not, I'm not sure- inexperienced me doesn't know how to tell- but the sauce was nice, the abalone had that distinctive chew, and it made for a great appetizer before the dim sum uncle came rolling with the cart. 

There were a lot of offerings from the steamed side. 

Besides the cheong fun with selections of prawn or char siew, there were char siew baos, siew mais, crystal baos, har gows, xiao long baos, and the like. 

It was quite fun to hear the staff rattling off whatever they had in their trolley whilst taking each basket up and showing its contents to you. 

So well did they do the introductions that they made it impossible to reject them, and you felt literally guilty if you had to do so. 

But because one cannot possibly have everything, we took one plate of cheong fun, one basket of salted egg lava buns (the buns themselves were green in color, don't ask me why), two baskets of xiao long baos, one basket of siew mais, one basket of har gows, and one basket of lotus leaf rice. 

I liked the xiao long baos. 

They might not be the same texture as some that I've eaten elsewhere, but the skin was thick and chewy the way I liked it, the little blob of broth was warm and rich when it burst inside my mouth, and the meat- tender and soft- gave me a cozy, melty sort of chew. 

The lava buns were just as good.

Better yet if eaten warm. 

Then there were the siew mais and har gows, both of which have always been favorites of mine when it comes to dim sum. 

I tend to go for siew mais more than har gows but the gentleman was recommending it so enthusiastically I got a basket, and so, besides the warm, comforting bite of the siew mais, there were three prawns nestling inside the pouch of the har gows too. 

Whilst working through our basket of lotus leaf rice- there were two pieces, if I'm not wrong- back came the trolley, and this time we took a serving of char siew baos, and another two baskets of xiao long baos. 

Having glutinous rice and char siew baos might seem like an odd combination to have, but to my surprise both went together very well. 

I liked peeling the lotus leaf off away from the steamed rice. 

I also liked how the rice- with its piece of mushroom and lap cheong and a bit of meat- didn't sit heavily on the stomach, and so didn't take away the joy of fluffy, warm char siew bao.

I ate two baos, finished up my basket of three xiao long baos, then went to the middle of the restaurant where some of the other offerings were. 

They've changed a little how they serve the food here. 

Where at one time they might have brought the fried stuff over to your table, now they pile it all together in a serving tray buffet style and you go pick out whatever you want. 

It's quite a good idea, actually. 

Because now you don't have to finish three egg tarts (of one plate serving) if you don't want to. You can have one, or four, up to you. Neither will you be wasting the entire plate if you try something new and realize it's not your taste. 

What's more, it isn't just the fried stuff they have there. 

On one side there was braised meat (if I'm not wrong), then there was chili crab sauce and fried mantous. On the other side there was porridge of pork and century egg, then a pot of soup. Further on still there was a tray of whatever fried stuff the staff had brought out from the kitchen, and then opposite that, the egg tarts, the char siew sous, the radish cakes, the puddings, and the jellies. 

Then there was a chiller with ice cream. 

I ladled my friend and I a bowl of porridge each (scooping out as much century egg and pork as it were possible), and can I say  that whilst I liked the egg and the century egg and the pork very much, the Cantonese in me loved the thick, near-gooey texture of the porridge even more?

If there's anything, this porridge will be what I'll go for the next time I come here again. 

I'll go for the egg tarts too. 

And if these cute little spring-roll sweet potato bites are brought out, I'll be helping myself to them the same way I helped myself to them this time round. 

Because, yes, I fell in love with the contrasting flavors of sweet and salty, I fell in love with the natural sweetness of the root vegetable, and I got into the light crunch taste of the crispy batter.

Christmas @ OSCARS

Sometime during the middle of December last year a friend asked me if I were okay to do an early Christmas celebration and go have dinner at OSCARS in Conrad Centennial Hotel. 

At first I wondered if it were a tad too early, if the Christmas foods from their F&B had been brought out, or if it might be better to wait till a few days before Christmas Day.

But I like OSCARS, I like the ambience and the food, so we went.

And as soon as I did, I found out we weren't late one bit at all.  

Christmas in the hospitality sector begins early- no less that of a five star hotel under the Hilton Family group- and I was greeted by the sight of this giant-sized teddy bear plopped right in front of their signature teddy-bear Christmas tree. 

If I had been delighted by the sight of this very unusual tree, I became especially charmed by the presence of the little one at my table in the restaurant itself.

No bears on this one, but there were tiny gold ribbons, and the tree became a bit of a focal point during the time we were there.

You know, on the way here, I had been quietly wondering if the usual Christmas favorites would be out on the counters.

To my delight, they were! 

I mean, you can call me picky, but really, this season wouldn't quite feel the same if the regular favorites weren't there, so a great thing it was today that besides the roast beef and the lamb, there was honey baked ham, grilled pineapple, one big fish of a salmon, and a whole turkey. 

Not that I went for the meats straight away though. 

Instead, I went for salmon sashimi.

One whole plate of it.

Salmon sashimi is one of my favorite ways to start any buffet. 

Brightly colored, cold, fresh and appetizing, it makes for an excellent meal opener when eaten dipped in soy sauce and wasabi. 

Together my friend and I worked through this one plate, then back it was to the buffet counter, for oysters this time. 

I think we worked through at least three plates of these freshly shucked mollusks.  

But we aren't complaining. 

These oysters were precisely what my friend had come to this buffet for. 

Of course, it wasn't just about the fresh seafood and the sashimi.

Amongst some of the other dishes that I got this evening there was a bit of beef, a bit of the ham, and a few pieces of turkey. The honey baked ham gave me Christmasy feels whilst the beef and turkey made me feel like I were somewhere else instead of  here. Why, exactly, I don't know, but beef with cranberry sauce (or some other sweet sauce) just hits different compared to mint jelly or mushroom sauce.

The one thing I loved about the food here were the sides. 

Don't laugh.

OSCARS does a selection of very good sides. 

Right by the roast beef and the honey baked ham were pots of roasted vegetables that included broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes and a host of other vegetables. Near to it there was pasta, there was squash, Brussel sprouts, and mashed potato. 

At first I thought of trying the Brussel sprouts- they had done them in some sort of a sweet honey sauce which I found rather interesting- but then I changed my mind and instead helped myself to a bit of the pasta and a good portion of the truffle oil mashed potato. Then because I thought I ought to have a bit of vegetable thrown in, I crossed to where the salad counter was and got me a couple of cherry tomatoes.

After that I walked around a bit, first taking a look at the salads, the cold cuts, the cheese and crackers, the fruits, then hopping over the Asian section where there was an offering of fried noodles (something like Yi-Mian), stir-fried vegetables, chicken done in a slight Sichuan style, and fish chunks done the Chinese way steamed in clear, soup-like gravy. 

At one end of the row there were the soups. 

At the other end there were the breads and the buns and the butter. 

Back at the table I helped myself to our second plate of oysters, then I had another serving of mashed potato and pasta, plus a taco because I got interested in the guacamole avocado filling, the meat (I now cannot remember what it was) and the cheese. 

And then because I thought I ought to have a wee bit of vegetable, I got a couple of cherry tomatoes from the salad section again.

I was getting a little bit full by this time but then my friend told me about the noodle station at the alfresco side, so I went and got myself a bowl of laksa- with extra quail eggs on special request, and which the chef gladly obliged.

Up came the third plate of oysters afterwards which I had initially thought was too much and impossible to finish but surprisingly wasnt. 

Perhaps oysters don't fill one up the same way prawns and crayfish lobsters do. 

It was time for dessert by the time we finished, and after a bit of green tea to wash all the mains down, we went and got ourselves some cake, some tiramisu, some custard pudding, some little Christmas cookies- I love the cinnamon icing ones- and a waffle- without the ice cream. 

Thinking about it now I wish I had gotten the ice cream. 

Here at OSCARS they do it gelato style with a couple of fascinating flavors. 

But because ice cream really fills one up and this evening I wanted cake more than I wanted ice cream so I got myself a nice little piece of crispy waffle drizzled with some maple syrup, and a tiny little serving of apple crumble pie instead.  

New Year's @ Donergy

So I'm finding this a little hard to believe, but in looking over my selection of pictures for 2024, these are the only pictures of Donergy that I have for the year. 

Goodness gracious me. 

I'm surprised. 

I had thought that we'd gone there more often. 

How is it that for the entire year I only had a meal there twice, and no more else? 

How is it that, despite me being in the Suntec City-Marina Square area a good amount of time, I haven't had a meal there as often as I wish I could? 

I guess one doesn't really feel it on the day to day. 

Life is such that you just go with the flow, and you don't think about it until one day when you suddenly feel like having Turkish food and you realize you haven't been to this place here at Millennia Walk for a very long time. 

There're a lot of places to be had for Turkish food. 

Whether you be at Kampong Glam, whether you be at Orchard, or whether you even be here in the Suntec area, there's Turkish food to be found.

But I like Donergy. 

Yes, it might not be the kind of place to entertain guests or have a business-type of meal, but it is the kind of place where you can have a casual meal between friends and family or by yourself without having to worry about elaborate cutlery and crockery and needing to look learned. 

This is the kind of place where you can wander in without knowing a single thing about Turkish cuisine and the down-to-earth staff will happily explain it to you. 

If you don't speak English, no worries, they speak Mandarin too. 

There's a lot to be had here at Donergy, by the way. 

Offhand I don't remember their menu very well but they've got all of what I call casual Turkish casual fare where some have become favorite dishes of mine, and I never have to think too hard what it is I want to have. 

There've been days where I've had the Chicken Kebab Wrap which is this huge piece of thin leavened flatbread stuffed to the brim with vegetables and chicken so much so that it's an art to eat the whole wrap without dropping any of the vegetables, or the meat. 

I've never quite succeeded. 

Besides the Wrap, there've also been days that I've had the Beef or Chicken Tombik where I find myself wondering whether I should eat the burger-like sandwich (actually a bun-shaped pita) in one bite or if I should separate the bun from the meat and eat them by themselves. 

But it's the Plate that I have most of the time.

I don't know what the name of this Plate actually is, but it's got a heap of buttered pilaf, a mountain of doner beef kebab, and a even larger heap of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions and little cubes of fresh cucumber mixed all in between. 

Shall I say it's a favorite? 

Yes.

But I like to think of it more as a familiar go-to than a favorite. 

After all I think I like Spinach Pide (Turkish flatbread baked with spinach and cheese) as much as I like the Tombik and the Wrap and the Rice. 

One dish that I always try to order, however, is the Lentil Soup. 

I've had it before- at other places- but for some reason they don't charm me the same as this one here. 

Don't ask me what the difference is- maybe it's the salt, maybe it's the oil, maybe it's the spice- but I love the taste, I love the color, and I love how the little bits of beans (I think they're chickpeas) linger on the tongue, granting you a light feel of puree-like mush in each mouthful. 

I'm so glad we've managed to have the soup both times that we were here at Donergy in 2024. 

More than that, though I'm glad that for New Year's Eve we managed to have one of my new favorite desserts- the Kunefe. 

I hope I'll get to have more of it in 2025. 

Not merely for the fact that I do need some sugar in my life. 

But also for the fact that crispy, shredded, spun-together semolina dough layered with cheese, topped with a generous scattering of pistachios, quartered, and served in a sweet syrup of what looks like evaporated milk (or is it some sort of a light cream) is very difficult to resist.