Fury (the movie) and other mundane events

Took leave on Monday. Wanted to play with my new scooter at the Park, but didn't because of the stupid rain. It kept raining on and off yesterday. Sigh, didn't manage to capture enough rainwater for my roses, I need to build a contraption to capture rain water off the roof. All that wasted water!

We ended up at AMK nursery (next to library) because I wanted to get bamboo sticks to support my crazy white rose (came back to life again after the spider mite nonsense. However my purple rose never recovered from my doctoring, but when I bought it, it already had yellowing leaves. I couldn't resist getting purple roses, hello, PURPLE).  

There must be a massive demand for bamboo sticks or something. The Thomson nurseries are selling them at S$1 a stick (daylight robbery), whereas I got a bunch of them for S$2 the other time at AMK garden. The lady said they have run out of the sticks. Sucks. I did notice that they were selling the Daiso (everything S$2!) gardening supports (the one I buy for my roses) at a marked up price of S$5.20. Very cunning. They have removed the packaging that easily identifies the item as a Daiso product, but retained the green wire that comes with the packaging. OMG.

So we continued onto the central area, with Bobo whining that he wanted to zombie at home, instead of being dragged around AMK. In the end we decided to watch a movie before getting my salmon (S$63 for a whole fish, eye watering!) and some buttons for my dress. 

We watched FURY. Being a massive CoH fan, I was instantly attracted by the promise of a Sherman tank (btw the Tiger tank used in the movie is the last working Tiger in the world. Amazeballs!). It was gory, violent and horrifyingly captivating to watch. I was sufficiently traumatised, so it has achieved its purpose. Too much talking though, same complaint that we had with the CoH movie.  Yak yak yak, fight fight, Yak Yak, sex with a german girl, yak yak. Everyone dies except for that moron.

Bobo and I were disappointed with the ending. He thought that it was going to be like most American war movies, the air support/ backup will show up at the critical moment to save the day and everyone's life would be spared. Instead everyone got picked off one by one like a horror movie, except everything happened in the eponymous tank.

I thought that the stupid moron was going to be injured and Brad Pitt was going to shoot him between the eyes to put him out of his misery like what Gonzo described about mercy killing the horses used in the war (when they were sitting around the dining table). I liked that poignant ending. Instead the movie used another poignant ending. The moron didn't want to shoot the hitlerjugend at the beginning of the movie, and in the end, he was spared by the mercy of a young german soldier when he discovered him alive and well under the tank hatch. So expected...

*realized I sound pretty cheerful today. I must be coming down with something*

Bedrock Bar & Grill *drool*

Bär and I coined this term "lavish lunch" to commemorate the rare milestones in our miserable lives. It's been a long time but we have two this month.Yeah! *Jersey Shore style fist pump!*

Brain Freeze worthy!

We started off with Bedrock Bar & Grill, which I read about in Some like it Haute. If someone mentions it 5 times in a blog, it must be a definite 5-star. So I suggested that we try out its set lunch menu for our first celebration. I decided to make reservations just in case, which was a good idea, because even on a Monday afternoon, the restaurant was soon decently filled (at a glance, > 70-80% tables occupied, considering the price, it was a testimony to its quality).

We had the following options under the set lunch menu:

set lunch menu

Anyone who reads this blog often *fingers crossed* (hope there are some of you out there), will know that Bär has some self-admittedly lousy luck when it comes to ordering from any menu, e.g. the semi-cooked fish at Alkaff Mansion. It also didn't help that he avoids certain foods like I do (though in my case, I gorge on those I can eat -> that's why I am fat) which limits the items he can consume.

I cheekily suggested that he ought to take the Lobster Bisque because the brandy in the soup would intoxicate him enough into a benevolent mood when he met his clients later. Instead he asked the obliging waiter (James) to check if he could change the soup to Smoked Tomato soup on the ala carte menu, while still ordering his main and dessert from the set lunch menu.

The waiter came back and confirmed that the chef was agreeable to the change, which of course put us in an even better frame of mood to enjoy ourselves. Really the excellent service contributed a huge part in our enjoyment. Again, if anyone reads this blog often, they'd know I am the kind who will not pull punches when it comes to either praising/bashing a restaurant. 

ok only

We ordered drinks, I tried their signature iced tea (was a miss), and Bär, a critus mocktail (also a miss). Truly the drinks were not the stars of the show, but they served their purpose of quenching our thirst. 

We were served toasted pita bread, which came warm to the table with an entire roasted clove of garlic (in olive oil) and a round disc of butter. The garlic was ambrosia to our eclectic palates, and we soon demolished the entire clove. Nonetheless vampires needed not be afraid, because the garlic tasted sweet and mellow without a single bit of that soul-destroying sharpness.

Fluffy and warm little pita bread pockets

I think we enjoyed it too much, that was why the attentive staff offered us seconds of the bread (which came this time with a lovely golden brown toasted skin) and another sacrificial garlic. Bär commented that we must look ravenous. On hindsight, they might have realized that we had many vampires to kill back at Arbeit. Oh delicious pita bread, how I wish I could cut myself into bits and stuffed myself into your comfy shell. A further testimony to how good the bread was, Bär couldn't bring himself to finish his main, but he continued to stuff his mouth with the remaining hunk of bread.

Shit, this is becoming an ode to the pita bread, so I better move on. 

Like I mentioned earlier, Bär changed his starter to Smoked Tomato soup with a little dollop of Basil Mascarpone, as explained by James. As the food started arriving, I started regretting not bringing my camera instead of using my pathetic phone camera. If only I could immortalize Bär's rapture as he slowly appreciated the soup. He offered me a sip (ok, he knew I would continue staring at him until he let me), and I could taste the smoky essence in the strained liquid.

Fishy gummy bears

I had smoked salmon (I had to hit my Omega 3 quota), and it had a uniquely chewy texture like salty gummy bears. I only encountered this kind of toothsome quality once at a Japanese restaurant. Usually the smoked salmon I am served is flaky and soft. 

Giant chicken thighs!

When Bär's chicken arrived, we were flabbergasted. That was A LOT of chicken on the plate. After Bär took the heap apart, I was bemused that it comprised of two thighs and chunks of turnip and beetroot. The chicken's juices ran clear, and contrasted delightfully against the crispy skin. Hmmm...

I had a really hard time deciding between the various steak dishes (I quickly eliminated the burger - too much carbo),  minute wagyu, petit tender or steak with fries. In the end I chose the wagyu. My bovine eye candy was delivered on a hot plate (ok, it wasn't really that sizzling hot kind) with little julienned fingerling potatoes and caramelized onions hidden underneath. The only complaint I have is that I wished that the restaurant served a little bit of greens with the dish. I felt like a roly poly cavewoman as I heartlessly carved into my sinful steak. The unctous marbled fat in the steak melted in my mouth and warmed the cockles in my heart. *Swoon*

Make love on a plate

But the pièce de résistance for me was truly the scrumptious brandied berry and almond tart. Warm, and crumbly with that little dollop of creme fraiche melting on the tart, it was a lovely touch to end the meal. It was so yummy that Bär was envious and wished he ordered that instead. Then again his profiteroles were two beautiful frozen nuggets of solid cream. Told him to wait for the damn things to defrost, lest he get brain freeze, but he insisted on eating them. Tsk Tsk.

In a nutshell,
Bedrock Bar & Grill
96 Somerset Road, #01-05 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Orchard, Singapore 238163

Less is More - Ah Bong's Italian

 

I forgot to take a photo of the stall, so please make do with this (taken from the stall's facebook page)

Mr Bear's sister joined us for lunch today, so I suggested that we try Ah Bong's Italian, which I read about a few days ago. It was supposed to be restaurant quality at kopitiam (coffeeshop) prices. So we decided to give it a try, even though I was nursing a headache. It was the same coffeeshop that houses Two Face at night.

Today we had a few choices, ragu, country style pasta (I think), mac&cheese, aglio olio and creme brulee. The pasta was S$6 a plate, which was ok. We also had the option of adding truffle oil for S$1 to the pasta. The three of us ordered the creme brulee. The food was served on quaint coffeeshop style dishes, unfortunately the portions were dietician-sized.

I tried a little of everything as well as my own mac & cheese, which was delish, but didn't have much other than bacon bits, mushrooms bits and cheese. 

The country style pasta

Miss Bear's country style pasta was very nice, with minute slices of zuchini and mushrooms. Mr Bear's had the same ingredients though his was doused lavishly with oil because it was aglio olio after all. I preferred the country style pasta, though my Mac&Cheese was the best. Bobo being a pasta hater would probably run screaming into the afternoon. :D

In a nutshell, I would say, the taste was very restaurant style, though the portions were also very restaurant style. Perhaps it's because Mr Bear and I were fatty poompooms, but even slender Miss Bear opined that the portions were a little tiny, and we looked longingly at the yong tau fu stall. Wished Ah Bong sold salads, or even sorbet. The pasta settled a little heavily in my still fragile system, would have been nice to have had some lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate a little bit (luckily I ordered 钓鱼 - chinese tea using a tea bag), though the creme brulee was very yummy. The scorched sugar shell was warm, contrasting with the cold inside which was gooey, cold and sinful... hmmm. But oh so tiny.

It was a teaspoon next to the creme brulee (S$3).

I commented drily that it was good in a way that they didn't give us too much to make us feel sick, like we'd have with large family sized portions, because the flavors were heavy. I think if they provided some free greens/salad would have been improved the meal so much more and made us feel more value for money (e.g. air-conditioned Saveur's very popular Saveur pasta only costs S$4.50 and the portion is larger). I suggested to Mr Bear that if we ate at this place again, we should buy 3 pasta to be shared by 2 persons.